


King of the Swarm

by Dragoneel22



Category: StarCraft (Video Games), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Mineta Minoru Exists, Not Beta Read, Original Character-centric, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Tags May Change, U.A. is a University (My Hero Academia), but not for long
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2020-11-28 14:29:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 36,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20968094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragoneel22/pseuds/Dragoneel22
Summary: In a world of heroes and superpowers, just about everyone has a quirk that makes them special, that makes them unique.But what happens when one child, who was originally presumed quirkless, gets a quirk that sets them apart from the human race as a whole?Is he a really a monster? Or is that just how people have chosen to see him.





	1. Dormant

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a crossover between MHA and Starcraft. There won't be any characters or lots of lore brought over from starcraft though. The only things brought over are the Zerg and the concept of the "Queen of Blades" as the leader of the Zerg.
> 
> Names will be written as First name, Last Name.
> 
> The idea of having a "Queen of Blades" character in the MHA universe came from the fic 'Infested Jade' by Syber_Slash. Please go check it out, it is very good and very well-written.
> 
> I don't know if this fic will have a regular upload schedule. I will try to update at least once a week, but it'll likely end up being more often than that, just whenever I finish a chapter. I've been having fun writing this and am already several chapters in.
> 
> With that said. Who's ready for the first six chapters all at once?
> 
> Enjoy the fruits of my sleep-deprived labor.

In this day and age, the topic of quirks is one of the most interesting, studied, and widely debated in the world. People everywhere cook up theories seeking to explain their origins or discern patterns in the when and how certain ones develop. Almost any discussion can be turned around in some way to link back to quirks.

Such was the case for Kenzo Okura. No, he wasn’t one to create theories or dive into a long-winded discussion concerning their history; his four-year-old mind could not quite comprehend such topics.

Nonetheless, quirks fascinated him.

For starters, there was the sheer variety of quirks that were spread through the world. Elemental quirks to control fire, transformational ones that could let a person mimic an animal or harden their skin, even mutative ones that could change anything from a person’s strength to their level of intelligence.

Take Kenzo’s father for example. His quirk gave him the ability to completely control an object’s movement, provided it was within a certain weight limit. It was a telekinesis quirk; a form of mental mutation that was fairly rare, even if his was somewhat weaker than average.

Then there were heroes. The men and women that used their quirks to protect the population from those who would use theirs for harm. While it was true that not all heroes were truly pure in their reasons for becoming one; some doing it for fame, money, or status; many more did it due to a desire to help others. These heroes, people like the Wild Wild Pussycats, Best Jeanist, and especially the Symbol of Peace All Might, served as true role models of what heroes should aspire to be.

And even among those that did seek those things, most did still help others in order to achieve them

All of these things were fascinating to Kenzo. Even more so because he had recently turned four and was due to be getting his own quirk soon. His classmates were already starting to get theirs.

Speaking of; one of his classmates, his best friend actually, had been called to the front of the class. They had just recently developed their quirk and were eager to show off to everyone.

She stood in front of the class, nearly bouncing on her feet as she explained her quirk to the class.

“It lets me make whatever I want using the cells in my body! As long as I know what it’s made of.”

To demonstrate, she held her hand out, face scrunched in concentration. Her palm started to glow as an object slowly grew out of it. Once it had fully appeared, it was revealed to be a Russian nesting doll.

Their classmates were amazed.

“That’s so cool! You can make anything!?” someone shouted out.

“Yes!” She responded. “Or at least I think so. And I need to know exactly what it’s made of before I can make it.”

All at once, everyone started shouting out questions and requests, curiosity and amazement winning out over manners. They all shouted out requests for certain items, asking her what she could and couldn’t make. Though she attempted to answer questions as they came, she was beginning to look flustered at the sudden barrage. After a moment, the teacher cut through the noise to silence everyone.

“Alright! That’s enough for now.” They commanded. “If you have any other questions for her, they can wait until later. For now, it’s time to learn. Go ahead and return to your seat Miss Yaoyorozu.”

“Y-yes!” She replied, before making her way to her desk, which was located right next to Kenzo’s.

Once she was seated, he leaned over to her. “That was really cool Momo!” He whispered, “You have a really awesome quirk!”

“T-thank you Kenzo.” She responded, smiling at the praise.

The rest of the class passed by quickly, and at recess, everyone was crowded around Momo, asking her if she could create things for them. She couldn’t make most of the requested items, as she didn’t know what they were made of or they were too complex. But she could make a few simpler ones.

After that, the school day ended without incident, and soon Kenzo was being driven back home by his father. He was telling him how Momo had gotten her quirk.

“It was so cool!” He exclaimed, “She just made stuff from her hands! She said that it takes the cells in her body to make whatever she wants to!”

“That sounds amazing. I bet she’ll make a great hero one day.” His father replied.

“Yeah, me too. I hope I get my quirk soon, so I can be a hero with her.” Kenzo said, calming down. “I hope it’s telekinesis like yours. Or a transforming one like how Mom’s was.”

At the mention of his mother, Kenzo’s mood dropped a bit. He could see his father reacting in a similar fashion.

He didn’t remember much about her; she had apparently died soon after he was born. His father said it was because of a villain. Her quirk had been a transformation-type; it allowed her to turn into a giant spider.

“Don’t worry about it.” His father responded. “I’m sure you’ll get your quirk soon enough. And I’m sure you’ll use it to be an amazing hero alongside Momo.”

“You think so!?”

His father laughed, the mood in the car quickly improving. “I know so. In fact, tomorrow’s Saturday. How about we schedule an appointment with a quirk doctor so they can try to figure out when you’ll get yours.”

“Okay!”

With that, the two continued the ride home in relative silence.

* * *

The next day, Kenzo and his father went to the doctors’ office for their appointment with the specialist. They were sitting in the waiting room, Kenzo playing with the toys provided while his father was reading from a magazine.

“Mr. Okura and Kenzo?” A voice called out.

They both looked up to see a dark-haired man in a lab coat, looking over at them.

“Yes, that’s us.” Kenzo’s father replied, standing up and directing Kenzo to do the same.

“Hello. My name is Dr. Igarashi. I’m told you’re here regarding your son’s quirk?”

“That’s correct. He’s not developed his yet and we were hoping you could provide some insight as to when he might.”

“Well, we can certainly try.” The doctor said with a smile on his face. “Follow me, there are a few tests we can run that might help us figure it out.”

Kenzo and his father followed the doctor to an examination room. He got some blood drawn, had an x-ray taken of his foot, as well as a number of other tests that made no sense to him.

Soon, the three of them were sitting in the with the doctor in his office, while he reviewed the results.

“Well,” He began, “It looks like you have nothing to worry about. Every test we performed point towards your son having a quirk.”

“That’s wonderful!” Kenzo’s father exclaimed, looking down at his son, whose face showed just as much excitement and joy.

“Yes.” The doctor continued, “However, it may turn out that you’ll have to wait a bit longer before it manifests.”

“What do you mean?”

“Many of the results here match up with those of other children who developed later than their peers. This isn’t something to worry over though.” He added, seeing their expressions.

“Sometimes, due to the nature of one’s quirk, it is necessary for the body to be further developed before it can manifest. This is most common in full-body transformation or major mutation quirks that require the body to have the energy necessary to transform. As well as particularly powerful mental-based quirks that require a more developed brain. These quirks are classified as ‘Dormant’ until they finally manifest.”

Kenzo spoke up once the doctor finished his explanation. “So that means I have to wait until I’m bigger? Because it’s going to be a strong quirk?”

“Yes, exactly.” The doctor answered, “You just have to wait until your body is ready for the quirk to manifest. Usually, these types of quirks develop around the fifth birthday instead of the fourth. But unfortunately, there’s no way to know for certain until it manifests. These cases are not all that common, so we don’t have all the information that we’d like to.

Kenzo was happy upon hearing that. He was a little disappointed that he would have to wait longer for it to develop. But the doctor had said it would be a strong quirk, so he was fine with waiting a little bit. _‘I just have to wait some more. Then I can become a hero with Momo!’_

“I see.” His father said as he stood up. “Thank you, doctor. This has certainly helped to clear some things up.”

“Certainly.” The doctor responded, “It was my pleasure. Have a good day Mr. Okura, you too Kenzo.”

“Bye!” Kenzo called, joining his father. They made their way out of the office, to their car. Soon, they were on their way home. Keno spent the entire ride coming up with ideas about what his quirk might end up being. His father remained mostly silent, listening on with amusement at his son’s excitement.


	2. Transformation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenzo's quirk manifests, but it's not what anyone was expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: The description of Kenzo's transformation gets pretty explicit. It's pretty brief though, and this should be the only chapter where it happens.

The next two years passed by relatively quickly. Kenzo was still waiting for his quirk to manifest. He was disappointed that it hadn’t yet, but he was still hanging onto the words of the doctor; that waiting this long meant that his quirk would be strong.

That didn’t stop his classmates from bullying him, however. He had tried to explain to them that he would have a quirk, he just had to wait a bit longer for it. They just didn’t believe him, calling him ‘liar’ and ‘quirkless’. He was pretty sure he’d even heard one of the teachers whisper ‘delusional’ under their breath when he tried explaining it to them.

Even his father was starting to act differently. He was good at hiding it, but Kenzo could tell. Muttering under his breath, agitated sighs whenever Kenzo talked about quirks, and smiles that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Kenzo could see that something was wrong with him.

Unbeknownst to Kenzo, coworkers had started mocking his father at work. Asking him how he could stand having a quirkless son. Even calling him a disgrace for having a useless child.

The one person in his life that hadn’t changed in the face of his perceived quirklessness, was Momo. She had believed him when he told her what the doctor said. And in the two years since then she had stayed with him, protecting him from bullies, making trinkets with her quirk whenever the bullying got particularly bad. Most importantly, she had remained his friend. As long as she was with him, he could handle any amount of bullying from his peers or almost-hidden disappointment from his father.

That day at school had gone pretty well, in Kenzo’s opinion. There had only been two encounters with his bullies, and both times Momo was there. She was pretty good at getting the teachers at the right time. They tended to believe her when she told them about the bullies, even if they didn’t believe him, because of his apparent quirklessness. Even still, the bullies never got any serious punishment, all it ever accomplished was stopping that particular instance. But he was still glad for her help. Without it, things would be so much worse than they were.

Now, they were sitting side-by-side in front of the school, waiting for her parents to come pick her up. Kenzo's father no longer came to pick him up, instead telling him to walk home on his own. It had surprised him, but it was fine. He had most of the route memorized, so he was able to figure it out.

He was brought from his thoughts when Momo shifted, turning towards him.

“Hey K-Kenzo?” she began.

“Yeah?” He responded, cocking an eyebrow. Strange; she hardly ever stuttered any more.

“I-I’ve got a present for you. I’ve been practicing for a while to get it right.”

Without waiting for a response, she held out her hand to him. Looking at it, he saw it start to glow the signature purple-blue that signified her quirk. Once the glow faded, he saw what appeared to be a small chain coiled up in her palm.

She picked it up and held it closer to him. “It’s a necklace.” She explained, a small blush growing on her face. “Mom told me about how sometimes people make things like friendship bracelets for each other. And I wanted to do something similar.”

He gently took it from her, bringing it closer to examine it. It was a simple, silver necklace.

“It doesn’t have any charms or anything to go with it yet.” She continued, “I haven’t figured out how to make those yet. But I figured we could add them later.”

As she said this, her hand started to glow as she produced another necklace, completely identical to the first. “And now, I have one too. That means that we’ll always have something to remember each other.”

Kenzo carefully gathered the chain up into his hands. Leaning over, he threw his hands around her shoulders, hugging her tightly. “Thank you Momo. I love it.”

He heard her sputter for a moment, before returning the hug. “Y-you’re welcome Kenzo.”

They were interrupted from their hug by a car horn. They jumped, looking up to see Momo’s mother waiting in the car, smiling at them.

Momo stood up, gathering her stuff. “Bye Ken!” she shouted as she ran over to the car.

“Bye Mo!” He shouted back, as he started to gather up his own stuff, being careful to deposit the necklace into a secure pocket in his bag.

As the car pulled away, he heard people approaching him from behind. He turned to see his three main bullies approaching him. The same three that Momo had stopped twice already that day.

“Now that your girlfriend is gone. We can finally have some fun.” The middle one started to say. “Teach you a lesson for getting us into trouble.”

Kenzo didn’t even wait for him to finish his sentence, taking off at a sprint down the road. He could hear the angry calls of the bullies as they took off in pursuit. He was used to this, most of his bullying would take place after school, since Momo couldn’t help him once she was gone, and his father was no longer there to drive him home.

He wove around the people walking down the sidewalk, hoping to lose them in the crowd. Their voices behind him made it clear he wasn’t being very successful.

He darted around a particularly large group of people, taking advantage of the broken line of sight to run into an alleyway. He rounded a corner and tucked down beside a dumpster, waiting and listening for footsteps.

A moment later, he could hear the sounds of his classmates as they ran past the entrance to the alley. He didn’t relax until their footsteps completely faded away.

Breathing out a deep sigh of relief, he stood up to leave, the adrenaline was still coursing through him.

He managed to take three steps when, suddenly, a sharp spike of pain drove through his skull. He locked up completely, all his muscles seizing at once, preventing him from even screaming at the intense pain working its way through his head.

Kenzo fell to the ground, still hidden from view from the road. He somehow managed to curl in on himself. His head hurt; it felt as though there was white-hot iron being hammered into it, splitting it open. On top of that, the rest of him was starting hurt too, but instead of the same sharp, stabbing sensation in his head, it was an immense all-consuming burning feeling, all across his skin. It felt as if he was being burned alive.

Soon, he was lost in the pain, losing all concept of time or awareness of the world around him, yet unable to fall unconscious to escape this hell.

As he lay there, stuck in the space between awareness and oblivion, his body began to change.

It started at his chest. His sternum and ribs cracked and broke apart, shifting around before reshaping themselves, growing denser. His skin began to peel away and slough off of him in chunks, sprinkling blood across the ground and revealing a new, dark, red-purple skin in its place. Chitinous material grew over top of it, quickly spreading across most of his chest and abdomen. It held the appearance of an insect’s carapace, almost like an exoskeleton.

The transformation continued down his arms, revealing more chitinous growth along his forearms. Once it reached his hands, the bones in his fingers broke apart and reformed, growing longer than before, and having more of the new, strange skin stretch between them, partway up the digits. It was webbing, reminiscent of an aquatic animal. His fingernails peeled up and fell away, claws growing in their place.

A similar process was occurring at his feet as the changes made their way down his legs. His bones broke and shifted, bursting his shoes apart. The same chitinous armor covering both of his feet entirely. Claws extended from where the nails used to sit, shorter than the ones on his fingers, but no less sharp.

The process continued up his neck as more armor grew to cover his shoulders, sharp spines extending outward a couple inches. Then his head began to change. All at once, his hair receded back into his head, and to replace it; thick, chitinous tendrils emerged. Each one was segmented, reminiscent of an insect’s antennae. These tendrils covered his entire head just like a normal head of hair, extending down past his shoulders.

His face underwent the least changes out of the rest of his body. The only notable differences being the change in his skin tone, which was now slightly paler than before, with purple undertones, and his eyes, which had now turned a bright, chaotic purple. Around his eyes were lines that were glowing the same shade of purple, almost like cracks extending from the corners of his eyes to his temples.

Then, his organs began to shift and transform as well. He felt a maddening itching sensation spread out from his stomach. It felt as if his inside were squirming around.

He tore and scratched at his torso, attempting to relieve the all-consuming itch inside of him. His new hands, with their razor-sharp claws, tore through his shirt like paper, but glanced off his now hardened skin without leaving a scratch. He could do nothing but wait out the discomfort, hoping it would end soon.

Once the rest of his body had seemingly finished changing, a pair of long, pony protrusions suddenly burst forth from just below his shoulder blades. It looked like a skeletal pair of wings, missing any of the flesh or muscle that would normally be stretched across them. Fully extended to the sides, they would measure approximately three meters across. Luckily, his backpack had fallen off at some point, otherwise his wings would have torn straight through it.

At the same time, another protrusion grew forth from lower down his back; from his tailbone. A long, segmented, tail had appeared, a full two meters in length with what looked to be a spear point on the end. It seemed to be made of the same bony material as the wings.

With that, the physical transformations were complete, and the pain across his body was beginning to fade. All that was left to do was wait out the white-hot spike of pain that was still working its way through his head.

Some time later, he felt the pressure in his skull begin to ease away. His muscles relaxed, finally bringing relief to his sore limbs. He rolled onto his back, barely aware of the new bony protrusions there. He lay there panting for several minutes, eyes unfocused and muscles spasming occasionally as echoes of pain flashed across his body.

Several minutes later, he was finally becoming aware of his surroundings. He noticed that the sky had turned dark, dotted with stars that seemed unusually bright.

_‘Wait. It’s nighttime already? But I thought I just left school. How long was I like that?’_

Whatever had just happened to him, it had taken much longer than he had thought. Kenzo figured that it must’ve been his quirk finally manifesting, but any excitement he would’ve felt was dulled by the memory of the intense pain he had just experienced. He sat up, wincing at the throbbing in his head. He looked down at his hands, inspecting the changes that had been wrought upon his body.

_‘I guess my quirk is like mom’s. My skin looks like a bug.’ _He thought to himself, noting the armor like material stretching across his arms. _‘But why did it hurt so much? Can I even change back?’_

He looked down to inspect the rest of his body, noticing the now ragged condition of his clothes. His shirt was lying in tatters on the ground around him. His shoes were in pieces, scattered around his newly armored feet. And his pants were blood-soaked, with several tears and holes in them where the armor (his armor?) had ripped through them.

Slowly, he got his feet underneath him, attempting to stand up on wobbly legs (that strangely felt stronger than they used to). He stumbled, falling backwards; off balance due to the new weight on his back. It was then that he noticed his new bony wings shifting around behind him, and the tail trailing on the ground behind him. He spun his head around, trying to get a look at them. He had wings!? And a tail!? That didn’t seem like his mother’s quirk.

He attempted to move the new appendages around, surprising himself with how easy it was. Somehow his wings, as well as the rest of his new body, felt strangely familiar to him despite how utterly new and sudden it all was.

Giving up on walking for the moment, he crawled over to where there was a large puddle on the ground, leftover from rain a day or two before. Kneeling down, he inspected his face, checking the extent of the changes. He reached up to his head, running his new hand through the mass of chitinous tendrils that had replaced his hair. He stared into the reflection of his eyes, admiring the new vibrant purple, as well as the mysterious lines that surrounded them, seemingly pulsating with glowing light.

A sudden crash somewhere off to the side nearly made him jump out of his skin (armor?). The noise sounded much too loud. It was borderline painful, causing him to clamp his hands over his ears. Was his hearing enhanced now too? In addition to all the other amazing, albeit terrifying, changes to his body?

Now that he was thinking about it, his other senses seemed abnormally sharp as well. He wasn’t sure how he’d failed to notice before, but he was seeing the alleyway around him as though it were broad daylight, even though it was surely supposed to be dark. His nose twitched as he finally recognized the putrid stench surrounding him, that was no doubt emanating from the dumpster he had hidden behind earlier. His sense of taste was strong enough that he could nearly taste the same garbage he was smelling (or maybe the smell was just _that _bad). The only thing that seemed normal, was his sense of touch despite his new tougher-feeling skin.

All of his newly enhanced senses hitting him all at once was becoming slightly overwhelming, especially when combined with the realization of just _how much _he had changed over the course of a couple hours. Kenzo squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to block out some of the input from his senses. Instead, he focused on exploring his mind, which felt just a strangely foreign as the rest of his body. It still felt like his mind, but it felt distinctly larger, somehow. In addition, something seemed to pulse just behind his eyelids; a steady thrum of… power? He wasn’t sure what it was.

All at once, while he was contemplating this new sensation, information appeared in his mind. It was almost like a list; filled with names he didn’t recognize but that, as was the theme with everything else it seemed, he felt an odd connection to. It was almost as if he _should _recognize the names.

Larva

Drone

Zergling

Abathur

Queen

Broodmother

He wanted to sit there and figure out what they meant, but he was suddenly hit with the realization of just how late it was. He had to get home; his father was probably worried about where he was. And he had to tell him that he finally had his quirk! He still wasn’t fully sure what it was, but his father could help him right? And Mo! He would finally be able to show her his quirk, they could finally become heroes together. She wouldn’t need to protect him all the time now.

As quickly as he could, he walked over to where his bag had fallen. He was still a little wobbly on his new feet, but he was starting to get used to it. It was strange how it didn’t feel like he was walking barefoot, despite not having any shoes on. Once he had his bag in hand – he couldn’t put it on his back with his wings in the way – He left the alleyway, making his way back home. The only evidence that he’d been in the alley was the tattered remains of his shirt and shoes and a huge mess of skin and blood left over from his transformation.

It didn’t take him long to arrive at his destination. Pushing open the front door he called out, “Dad! I’m home! Sorry I’m so late. But I think I got my quirk!” His own voice startled him. It sounded as if there were multiple voices overlapping as he spoke.

Once he was fully inside and had put on the slippers by the door (which somehow still fit over his armored feet), he noticed the weird smell that filled the house. He didn’t recognize it. It was almost fruity? Thanks to his new enhance senses, he could tell that it was originating from a number of glass bottles scattered on their kitchen table. With his hearing, he picked up shuffling coming from further in the house.

A moment later, his father appeared around the corner, eyes half-closed and another one of the strange-smelling bottles in his hand.

“The shit? Who’s there?” He called out. His voice sounded weird; all his words were getting jumbled together. “What do you want? Can’t you tell I’m trying to celebrate now that my useless son is gone?”

“Dad?” Kenzo asked, frowning. What did he mean by that? “It’s me. I finally got my quirk.”

“What the fuck?” He said, bleary eyes attempting to focus on the sight in front of him. “Kenzo? Shit, I thought I was finally done with you. That I wouldn’t have to deal with your useless, quirkless ass anymore.” His face was quickly morphing into a scowl.

What? What was his father saying? He thought Kenzo was useless? He was about to ask what he meant when his father’s eyes finally seemed to focus on him.

“What the hell happened to you anyway? Why do you look like some sort of gross fucking bug?”

Gross? Was Kenzo gross?

“I think it’s my quirk Dad. It happened on the way home from school.”

His father’s brow furrowed. “You mean that your quirk turns you into this freakshow?”

He was clearly starting to get angry, his scowl deepening as his fist tightened around the bottle. “You mean that I waited for two fucking years for you to not be useless, just to have you turn into some sort of fucking monster!?”

“D-dad?” Kenzo was starting to get scared, his father had never yelled at him before. And he’d definitely never been this angry. “W-what are you talking about?”

“Shut the fuck up!” He was full on shouting now. “For two years my life has been hell! Only for this to be my reward? A fucking monster for a son!?”

Kenzo was shocked. He wasn’t sure what was happening. One minute, he was excited to tell his father about his quirk and the next, he was being yelled at. His own father was calling him a monster.

“D-dad wha-?” he tried to ask, wanting to know what he had done wrong, before his father cut him off.

“I said shut the fuck up!” He yelled, swinging his hand forward, launching the bottle at Kenzo.

It shattered against his chest, pieces of glass slicing into his shirt. Oddly enough; none of it actually hurt him. In fact; he barely even felt it. That didn’t stop him from flinching, though. His father had never thrown anything at him before.

“Get the fuck out of my house!” He continued, “I don’t want some fucking bug for a son! Leave! Do me a favor and go die somewhere!”

Kenzo didn’t move, he was still in shock that his father had yelled at him and thrown something at him. It was only made worse by his own father telling him to die. _‘What’s happening? I thought he’d be happy that I have a quirk. Why’s he being so mean?'_

His hesitation angered his father even more, the bottles scattered across the nearby table all started to rise into the air.

“I said LEAVE!” He nearly screamed, throwing another bottle. This one shattered against his leg. “Leave and never come back! You’re no longer my son!”

He started throwing bottles in earnest now. Kenzo was finally spurred into motion when a bottle shattered against the wall next to his head.

Startling, he turned and flung open the door, bag in hand. Another bottle hit him square on the back. He ran out, not even bothering to close the door behind him. He could hear his father’s shouts and the sound of breaking glass as he ran down the street, tears pouring down his face.

Those tears didn’t stop until he was kilometers away from his house and the angry man inside that used to be his father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh? Did you think that Kenzo's dad was a good person?
> 
> Whoops. My bad.
> 
> Also, if need a reference for his new appearance, just google "Queen of Blades" and that's pretty much it. Just add a tail and take away the ridiculous high heels.
> 
> And I know that she doesn't have a tail in canon, but I really wanted to add one.
> 
> (I visualized a Xenomorph tail when thinking about his tail.)


	3. Broodmother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenzo makes a new friend. Literally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the story, I'm changing the entire mindset of the Zerg. Instead of their goal being to destroy/consume everything that isn't them, it's going to just be protecting/obeying Kenzo. So they won't hate or attack humans on sight or anything.

Kenzo hadn’t really paid attention to where his feet were taking him. All he knew was that before long, he was sitting up against a tree in what looked like some park. He didn’t remember any parks near his house, how far had he run?

Whatever. That didn’t matter right now. He was a monster; his own father had said so. What would his classmates think about his new body? Even more, what would Momo think? Would she take one look at him and call him a monster too? Would she decide that she no longer wanted to be his friend? Maybe she would ask for the necklace back.

Speaking of; he had taken the necklace out from its spot in his bag and was now looking at it as it sat in <strike>his hand</strike> the hand of a monster. For now, he would wear it, if for no other reason than to help himself feel normal. And to remind himself that maybe she wouldn’t judge him. After all; she hadn’t judged him when everyone thought he was quirkless, maybe she wouldn’t think he was a monster.

Kenzo sat there for several minutes, trying to sort through everything that had happened. He drifted back into his own mind, like he did earlier, and felt the same familiar thrum of energy just behind his eyes. Eventually, he found himself looking at the list again; at the names that seemed familiar yet strange at the same time.

He looked at each name in turn, contemplating what they might mean, until he reached the last name. 

‘Broodmother’

Mothers were supposed to know what to do right? If his mom were still around, would she be able to help him? Maybe whatever this Broodmother was, could do the same thing.

He focused on that name. As he did so, he felt a tugging sensation first from his chest, then from the power behind his eyes. Acting on some sort of new instincts, he raised his arms out in front of himself, palms facing each other. After a moment, a ball of shifting purple light appeared between his hands. Another moment later and something else appeared inside of the light. It looked like a worm? Or maybe a fish? Whatever it was, it was swimming around inside the ball of light.

Still acting on the strange, new instincts, he brought his hands closer together, touching the light. At his touch, the light seemed to grow solid; transforming into a weird, slimy egg of sorts, about the size of a softball. He lowered it down until it was sitting on the ground, then pulled his hands away.

Almost immediately, the egg appeared to fuse to the ground. Then, all of a sudden.

It started growing.

Within seconds it had gone from the size of a softball to the size of a basketball, and it was still going.

He jumped back in surprise, unsure what to do, other than wait for it to stop.

But it didn’t look like it was going to stop any time soon; within a minute it was about up to his chest in height. And it was _still going. _

Another minute later and its growth finally slowed to a stop. It had grown large enough that it was now taller than he was. In the back of his mind, he vaguely noticed that the grass around him for a few meters had withered and died. The tree fared no better; all of its leaves were now dead and looked like a strong breeze would make them fall, its bark was brittle and gray. At the same time, some sort of weird, fleshy substance was leaking out around the bottom of the egg.

Then, suddenly, the egg burst open, spraying more of the fleshy substance all over the place.

Where the egg once stood, there was now a… creature… of some sort. It looked like its bottom half was that of a spider, although it only had six legs, and its top half was mostly human. It was covered in spikes and the same chitinous armor as Kenzo. Everything about it screamed _“danger!”_

Despite that, Kenzo knew that he had nothing to fear from the strange new creature. He didn’t know how he was so sure; he just _was. _He watched it raise to its full height, a full five meters tall; over three times his own height

The creature noticed his presence. It turned to him, before lowering itself and bowing its human half slightly.

Then it spoke.

**“Greetings my King.”**

“Uhhh. Hi?” he responded, giving a small wave. “Wait. Did I just hear you inside of my head?”

**“Yes, my King. It is called ‘telepathy’, it allows for communication without speaking out loud.”**

Kenzo thought for a moment, wondering if he could do it too. He could feel something new in his mind, something at the edge. It almost felt like it was coming from the creature in front of him. Concentrating on it, he tried to think towards the creature. “Like this?” He asked.

**“Yes! Wonderful, my King.”**

He giggled at the sudden praise, even if it was coming from something that could probably kill him just by stepping on him.

Then he realized something weird. **“Why do you call me King?” **He asked.

**“That is because it is who you are. You are the King of Blades, and you are my ruler. My leader.”**

He was about to ask another question when he was interrupted by screaming of to the side.

“What the fuck is that!?” Someone yelled. “It’s fucking massive!”

“Shit! It’s some kind of monster!” A second voice responded.

Kenzo looked over to see two people staring at the creature.

One of them looked at Kenzo.

“There’s another one! It’s trying to look like a kid!”

“Come on! Let’s kill it before it attacks someone!”

They took off running towards him. One looked like they had fire in their hands and the other didn’t seem to have a quirk. Both of them had dark looks in their eyes as they charged forward.

The creature stepped in front of Kenzo, its attention focused on the men. A hissing noise began emanating from it, as its mandibles started clicking dangerously. **“Worry not my King! I shall protect you!”**

When the two men got close enough, the first one drew his hand back. A ball of fire started forming his open hand, it looked like it was about to throw it.

Before he could bring his hand forward, the creature shot… something, at him. An instant later, Kenzo saw him falling to the ground, he had a spike sticking out of his forehead.

The second man continued to charge forward, shouting out in anger. The creature shot another spike forward, but something happened, and the spike stopped inches away from the man. It continued to shoot at the man, but none of them were doing anything, they were all stopping just short of him.

_‘Telekinesis.’ _Kenzo realized. _‘Just like dad.’_

His eyes widened as the reality of the situation finally clicked. These people were trying to hurt them.

Just when it seemed like the man was almost close enough to attack, the creature raising a clawed hand to cut him down, Kenzo yelled out, “NO!”

Following more instincts he didn’t know he had, he threw his hand forward in a grabbing motion. All at once the man stopped in his tracks, arms pinned to his sides.

“Leave us alone!” Kenzo shouted at the struggling man, his voice growing even more distorted than before. The power was throbbing behind his eyes again, almost painfully. He threw his arm out to the side and the man followed that motion, flying across the park before landing in a tree some distance away.

**“Thank you, my King.” **The creature said, looking back towards him.

Kenzo was reeling. Two strangers had just tried to attack him. They called him a monster, just like his father did. The creature had killed one of them, and then he’d attacked the other one with powers he didn’t even know he had. Why couldn’t they have just left him alone?

He had questions, so many questions. And nobody to answer them.

His thoughts were interrupted by a massive wave of exhaustion that fell over him. All the events of that day must’ve finally caught up to him.

“’m tired.” He announced, as he began to sway on his feet. He would have fallen, had the creature not grabbed him and scooped him up into its arms.

**“You are exhausted. Rest now, I will find you somewhere safe.”**

All he could do was grunt in response, as the creature began walking, and darkness finally took hold of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kenzo: *doesn’t have a mom & his dad kicks him out*  
Kenzo: “Fine.” *Makes a new parent*
> 
>   
Also, for the sake of the story, I'm making it so that the broodmother knows everything about the Zerg and how everything works. I thought it would be cool to have them teach Kenzo how to use his quirk.
> 
> It may also be for convenience.
> 
> Sue me.


	4. Problem Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's favorite local tired-man enters the story, and he cannot catch a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've shifted the timeline a little bit when it comes to Aizawa, Midnight, and Present Mic. Nothing major, just making them a few years older to make all the ages fit. It won't come up in the story at all, so don't worry too much.

Shouta Aizawa firmly believed that the universe hated him. Or at least that’s how it felt; he never seemed to be able to catch a break.

First, he was almost forced into his teaching position by his ‘friend’ Nemuri. A job where he had to deal with so many problem children and proceed to crush their half-baked dreams just so they didn’t get themselves killed the moment they tried to become a hero. Then there was the fact that he had managed to get dry eye when he had a _vision-based_ quirk, and that he never seemed to feel well-rested no matter how much or how often he slept.

This newest development though, made him want to just lie down and fall into a coma.

He managed to come across a scene that made absolutely _no fucking sense. _

It was supposed to just be a regular patrol. A night filled with fighting and apprehending a never-ending stream of criminals.

But instead, he stumbled upon this.

In the middle of some random alleyway was a pile of fucking _skin_, and it was surrounded by blood. To make things even weirder; there were scraps of clothing littered everywhere as well. The only recognizable pieces were the remains of a pair of shoes.

Aizawa sighed. Maybe he had kicked a kitten, or several, in a past life or something.

He kneeled down to pick up the shoes, the tag inside had somehow survived… _whatever _had happened to them. He almost cringed at how small the size was, only a child could’ve been wearing something so small.

He stood back up, looking over the scene. The whole thing made him sick to his stomach. If it were just the clothing and the shoes, he would assume that a child had transformed because of a quirk. Maybe even an initial manifestation. There were plenty of transformation quirks recorded that changed a person’s size like that, destroying their clothing in the process.

But the blood, and the skin. It made it look like someone had been murdered. Gruesomely. Maybe there was a new, sick serial killer on the loose; that might at least explain the lack of a body.

For the sake of the child, whoever they were, he hoped that he was wrong, that it was just some quirk he’d never seen before. The alternative was almost too grim to think about. Although, a quirk that caused a scene like _this, _could not have been pleasant.

He was pulled from his thoughts by his cellphone going off in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw who was calling him: Detective Tsukauchi. The man often worked with Shouta, as he was one of the more competent underground heroes in the area.

He answered the call. “Detective? What did you need, I’m on patrol.” He asked. To most it might sound harsh, but by now the detective was used to his brusque personality.

“Eraserhead. There’s been an interesting situation that I want your help on.” Tsukauchi began. “I’m sending you the location of a park in your area. I need you to go there. It seems like there was a quirk-related murder. I’m already heading over there myself, apparently there is a witness.”

Shouta groaned internally, cursing whoever it was that wouldn’t let him catch a break.

“Alright, I’ll head over. But I need an officer at my location.”

“Is it a criminal?”

“No. It’s a crime scene… I think.” The hero responded.

“You think?”

“There’s a bunch of tattered clothing here and some torn-up shoes. As well as some blood and a pile of what appears to be skin.” He explained, “I would assume that it was just the scene of a murder, but there’s no body. And if it weren’t for the skin and blood, I’d say it was just the result of a transformation quirk. I need an officer to come collect everything, hopefully we can run a DNA test to try to figure something out.”

“Alright I’ll send someone over. Anything else you can tell me about it?”

“Based on the size of the shoes I’d say we’re dealing with a child.”

“Shit.” The detective responded, “Okay, I’ll take care of it. Just hurry over to the park.”

Shouta didn’t respond, simply hanging up his phone and sending his location to Tsukauchi. He eyed the scene in front of him one last time, before turning to jog out of the alley. He got a feeling in his gut as he ran to the park. It was a feeling he only ever got whenever he was about to deal with a particularly problematic-problem child.

* * *

Several minutes later, he arrived at the park. He made his way over to where several police officers were crowded around a tree, spotting a familiar tan trench coat.

He made his way over to the detective, calling out to him once he was close enough.

“Ah good. You’re here.” Tsukauchi announced, “follow me. I wanted to wait until you were here before talking to the witness.”

Shouta complied, following the detective around an area blocked off by police tape. He narrowed his eyes at what he saw. In the center of the area there was a… mass… of some fleshy-like substance, laying on the ground. It was surrounded by dead grass, and the nearby tree looked as though it’d had the life drained out of it. On top of that, there was a dead body several meters away from the mass, a massive spike protruding from his forehead.

Returning his attention back in front of him, he saw a man sitting some distance away, hands already restrained in quirk-suppressing handcuffs.

“His name is Kata Tokuda, according to his driver’s license.” Tsukauchi stated as they got closer. “We had to fish him out of a tree when we arrived. He was unconscious. It almost looked as though he had been thrown into it. He only just woke up a few minutes before you got here.”

The man, Tokuda, looked up at them once they were just a few meters away. “I didn’t do anything wrong!” He shouted at them, “All we did was attack a monster before it decided to attack someone else!”

Shouta raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “You attacked someone unprovoked. Sounds to me like you did something wrong,”

“That wasn’t a someone!” Tokuda continued, “It was a _thing. _A giant spider monster. And another monster pretending to be a kid.”

Anger rose in Shouta’s throat at that, from the sounds of things, this man had attacked a child. He wasn’t sure about the other ‘monster’ he was talking about. But he’d clearly said he attacked something that looked like a kid.

Before he could say anything, Tsukauchi spoke up. “You mean to tell me that you and your friend attacked a _child_?”

“I told you! It wasn’t a child. It was just pretending to be one. Besides, it’s not like we even got close to it. That other _thing _shot something at us. Killed Otani instantly.”

“Then how’d you end up in a tree then?” Shouta questioned.

“Whatever it was shooting at us wasn’t working on me, because of my quirk. I ran up to the bigger monster and was about to hit it when my whole body froze. The monster-kid had shouted something and was reaching its hand at me, like it was grabbing at me. Its eyes were glowing purple. Then it threw me across the park, and I landed in the tree.”

Shouta was still trying to work past his anger at the man for attacking a child. Whatever the child had done to the man was probably their quirk. Most likely some kind of telekinesis. But then what about their appearance? The man had said they looked like a monster, and Tsukauchi hadn’t detected any lies so far. Was it someone else’s quirk that changed their appearance? Or maybe it was just one that caused major changes to both their mind and body? And then there was the matter of whatever the ‘monster’ was that had apparently killed the other man.

Shouta groaned internally once again. He was starting to think that his gut feeling earlier had been correct. Whoever this kid was, they were sure to be a problem child.

Tsukauchi spoke up again, “What can you tell us about the appearance of the child? How old did they look?”

Tokuda sighed, apparently deciding that it wasn’t worth it to try to explain that he didn’t think it was a child. “It was hard to tell because it was dark, but it looked all purple. It looked like it had some sort of shell, almost like a bug. And it had big bony wings on its back, and a long tail. I don’t know about age. It looked like it might’ve been around seven or so. Maybe eight.”

_‘So young.’ _Shouta thought to himself. The kid was barely old enough for elementary school, and they’d been attacked by a couple of scumbags that judged them by their appearance. What were they even doing out of the house so late at night?

His mind flashed to the tattered pair of shoes he’d seen in the alleyway. The size probably would’ve been about right for a seven-year-old.

He shook the thought from his mind. They were probably completely unrelated situations. Probably. Best not to make assumptions when he barely knows anything. Hopefully a blood test would reveal something.

At the very least, this kid seemed to have a pretty unique appearance. Maybe they wouldn’t be too hard to find.

“And the what about the other one? The one that killed your friend, Otani?”

“That one really looked like a bug. It was huge; looked like it was at least 4 meters tall. Its lower half was a spider and its upper half looked almost human, but barely. Its face was missing everything but its eyes and the top of its head looked really big. I don’t know about age though; it didn’t even look human enough for me to tell.

_‘Could that have been a parent or something? They both apparently have similar “bug-like” appearances.’ _

“Alright.” Tsukauchi announced, “I think that’s enough for now.”

He gestured to one of the nearby officers, who came over to collect Tokuda, leading him over to a patrol car.

“What do you think Eraser?” Tsukauchi questioned the hero, once they were alone.

“I think that this whole situation is giving me a headache.”

“I agree.” He responded, “So far we’ve got two people who attacked a child and someone who is likely their parent, unprovoked. They defended against the assailants, killing one with the use of a quirk and incapacitating the other, also with the use of a quirk. They then fled the scene and both their whereabouts and identities are unknown. This is going to be a legal mess. Assuming we can even find them.”

“I have a theory about the identity part of that. At least for the child.”

“Oh?”

“That situation I told you about earlier, with the alleyway.” Shouta explained, “It is possible that the person involved with that and the child we’re looking for are the same person. The shoes that I found would be the right size for a child of their age, assuming that scumbag was correct in guessing it. And if I remember correctly, I think there’s a school pretty close to the alley.”

“The two might be related.” The detective agreed, “I’ll try to rush the DNA test, and get the results to you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Tsukauchi.” Shouta responded, turning to walk away. “In the meantime, I’m going home to try to sleep before dealing with my brats tomorrow.”

Shouta prayed to whatever gods there might be, that this would just be a simple case. That this just looked more complicated than it actually was.

He hoped that for once, just once, the universe would let him catch a break.

If only he knew how wrong he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any child with a troubled past and/or abusive household: *Gets into some kind of trouble somewhere*
> 
> Shouta “I’m not a dad” Aizawa: “I sense a new problem child and I’ve already signed the necessary adoption papers”


	5. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizawa investigates his newest problem child.

The next day, Shouta was laying in his sleeping bag, in the corner of the faculty lounge. He was taking a well-deserved nap after expelling three students in a day, his class was down to only eight people.

He had just settled down and had barely managed to fall asleep, when he was very _rudely _interrupted by his phone going off.

_‘Somebody had better be dying.’ _He thought to himself, as he pulled the phone from where it was buried.

“Hello?” He greeted, hoping to convey all his annoyance into that one word.

“Eraser, it’s Tsukauchi.” The voice on the other end announced, wasting no time in getting to the point. “We’ve got the results of the DNA test you wanted. You were right about it being a kid. The blood matched up to that of a Kenzo Okura; a six-year-old, who attends the school you mentioned; the one located near the alleyway. I’m sending the rest of the information to you as we speak.”

“Alright, thanks.” He responded, still groggy. “I’ll look into it before I go out on patrol. I’ll let you know if I find anything.” He hung up without waiting for a response.

A moment later, a notification popped up on his phone; indicating that the results had indeed been sent to him. He opened the document, scanning the details inside.

**Kenzo Okura, born: 22XX, March 6. Age: six years old.**

So far so good.

**Quirk: Dormant.**

_‘Dormant? That’s a pretty rare occurrence, especially at his age.’ _People with quirks listed as ‘dormant’ didn’t appear very often. And that status usually didn’t last very long, just long enough for the body to develop enough to withstand the quirk. Dormant quirks usually tended to be stronger than others of the same class. A dormant transformation-type might be a full-body, or a particularly large transformation, whereas a normal one might only be partial-body.

_‘If he’s still dormant at this point, then his quirk will probably end up being something either very large or very powerful.’_

**Parents: Ima Okura (Deceased) and Ryushi Okura**

Shouta recognized that name: Ima Okura.

She had also been known by another name: Arachnid, the underground hero. She hadn’t been particularly strong in combat. But with her quirk, which allowed her to turn into a giant spider, she was well suited to ambushes and surprise attacks.

She had been one of the more competent heroes, before she died.

It wasn’t even clear how it happened. She’d just been found one morning lying in an alley with a katana in her back of all things. And that was it; no witnesses, no suspects, and no explanation. Just a senseless death, killing off a good hero.

Ryushi’s quirk was listed as basic small-object telekinesis.

Damn. So much for their theory. Even if Kenzo is their missing ‘monster’ kid, whatever the other creature was, it wasn’t his parent.

He would still have to go to his house though. He needed to figure out why there was a pile of Kenzo’s blood and skin in the middle of an alleyway. And he wanted to make sure the kid was okay, whatever he had been through can’t have been pleasant.

Shouta groaned out loud, dropping his phone down. He could feel his headache returning.

Some of the other teachers in the room must’ve heard his pain, because a moment later Nemuri’s head popped up so that she could look at him.

“What’s wrong Sho?” she asked, “You look like you’re in more pain than usual.”

“_Problem children._” He hissed.

“Something wrong with your students? You gonna expel some more?”

“No. I haven’t even met them yet.” He groaned, “One of them is missing; they apparently ran from a murder scene last night. We don’t know their identity or whereabouts. The other is either dead or injured somewhere or they went through one hell of a quirk manifestation recently. I found a bunch of blood in an alleyway yesterday. I’m going to the second one’s house in a bit to try to figure out just what the _hell_ is going on.”

Nemuri grimaced, understanding now why he sounded like he was suffering. “Yikes. You have fun with that.” She said, returning to whatever she’d been doing beforehand.

Shouta groaned again as he hauled himself up off the ground and out of his sleeping bag. He shuffled out of the corner he’d been lying in, making sure to snatch the coffee pot from Hizashi’s hand as he passed.

“Hey!” He almost screamed, “That’s my coffee!”

“Fuck you.” Shouta deadpanned, “I need it more. Besides, you already have way too much energy.”

“Fine.” Hizashi huffed, “Just be sure to bring that back! Last time you forgot, and I had to go buy the new one.”

He just grunted in reply as he made his way out the door, sipping coffee from his improvised mug.

A few minutes later, he had made it to his car and had consumed enough caffeine to at least be coherent enough to not kill anyone on the road. He climbed into the car before pulling away, driving towards the house of the new problem child.

* * *

About half an hour later, he had parked in front of the house. He was now standing in the pathway leading up to the front door, observing.

He did not like what he saw.

There was broken glass scattered all over the pathway. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that it was the remains of several beer bottles. A serious red flag.

Then there were the discarded slippers. One sitting on the pathway, surrounded by the glass. The other was lying a short distance away on the edge of the road. If he had to guess, he'd say they looked like they had fallen off when someone was running. The fact that they were child-sized certainly did nothing to ease his mind.

More red flags.

He walked up to the door, mentally preparing himself for what he might find inside, and knocked.

After a moment, he heard something that sounded distinctly like someone getting up off the floor.

A second later, the door was swung open by a grumbling man. To say he was disheveled would be an understatement; he could give Shouta a run for his money. He looked like he had just woken up and Shouta could _smell _the alcohol on his breath. Yet another red flag. This was getting worse by the minute.

“Ryushi Okura?” He inquired.

“Yeah.” The man slurred, “What do you want?”

Shouta hoped that his slurred speech was a result of exhaustion, and not because he was drunk in the middle of the day.

“I’m here to inquire about your son, Kenzo Okura. A large amount of his DNA was found in an alleyway yesterday evening. We wanted to find out what happened and confirm his well-being.”

“You want the bug? I haven’t seen him since last night.”

“Bug?” Shouta asked, not liking where this was going.

“Yeah, bug.” The man responded, “He was a quirkless piece of shit for two years, then yesterday he shows up late, looking like a freak; all armored like a bug and with some weird fuckin' wings and a tail on his back.”

_‘Shit.’ _Shouta cursed internally. He 100% did _not _like this at all. It seemed as though Kenzo had indeed gone through a massive transformation yesterday. What’s worse, his appearance almost perfectly matched the one they were given the day before by the scumbag. Then there was the way this man was referring to his own son.

Shouta shoved his anger back down. He still needed to try to confirm Kenzo’s location.

“And is your son here now?” Hoping that the shattered glass and discarded slippers didn’t mean what he thought the did.

“No, he’s gone. I told him to leave. Threw a bottle at him when he didn’t move. It’s what he deserves; making my life hell for two years by being useless. Only to show up looking like a monster.”

It took all of Shouta’s self-control to not attack the man right there. Kenzo had been through what was likely a traumatizing experience when his quirk manifested. His body had likely changed drastically. Then, he had come home, the one place he should’ve been safest above all others, only to have his father chase him away, calling him a monster. And later, he’d been attacked again because of his appearance. They needed to find him.

For now though, he needed to get into touch with Tsukauchi to fill him in and to get someone to take care of the piece of shit father.

Shouta decided that the man must’ve been either stupid, drunk, extremely tired, or some unholy combination of the three. He’d just openly admitted to abusing his child and kicking him out of his home, in front of a total stranger.

“That’s everything I needed.” Shouta declared bluntly, not even waiting for a response before turning and walking away.

He heard a grumbled “Whatever.” from behind him, followed by the door slamming.

He pulled out his phone as he reached his car, dialing the detective’s number.

It was answered immediately. “Eraser. Did you find anything?” he asked without prompting.

“I did,” He replied, “And you’re not going to like any of it.”

“Shit. Alright, go ahead.”

Shouta took a deep breath, before beginning his explanation. “Firstly, we were right. Kenzo Okura is most likely our mystery child from the incident last night. It seems as though his quirk manifested sometime yesterday, making his appearance match the description we were given. This was confirmed by his father when I talked to him just now.”

He paused for a moment to let that sink in, before continuing. “The father is a piece of shit Tsukauchi. He openly admitted to attacking Kenzo and kicking him out last night because of his appearance. I don’t know if he’s been abusive before, or if it’s a recent development. But it sounds like it was bad, there’s broken glass all over the front yard for shit’s sake.”

“Alright, I’ll send someone to pick him up. I’ll question him once he’s here. If all that is true, then it shouldn’t take much effort to put him away.” He sighed, “On the bright side, at least that’s several questions answered. Now we just need to figure out is where he actually is and the identity of the mystery person who was with him last night.”

Shouta grunted in response, ending the call.

He sighed, leaning back against the car. They needed find Kenzo, fast. He was out there, somewhere, presumably with whatever the strange creature was that they’d heard about. He was probably confused out of his mind, with the major changes to his body and people attacking him because of it, chief among them his own father.

With luck, they would find him soon. Hopefully, he hadn’t managed to get far, and his new appearance would make it easier to find him.

Shouta tried to shake off his uneasiness. Everything would be fine; they would find him soon. They hadn’t been too late. He hadn’t been too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then, they didn’t find him for like, years.
> 
> Also, any guesses as to how Kenzo’s mom died?? Maybe at the hands of a certain sword-wielding, blood-licking psychopath??? I wonder what kind of interesting confrontation that’s gonna lead to later.


	6. Learning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenzo begins to learn about his quirk and how to use it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kenzo loves his new, giant alien mom.

Kenzo woke slowly, awareness returning to him in pieces. He cracked his eyes open and was confused by the sight in front of him. All he could see was brown; as if he was in a tent or something. Where was he?

He shut his eyes again, trying to remember what had happened to him; how he’d ended up… wherever he was. He remembered the creature, and someone attacking it?

Suddenly, everything that had happened that day came rushing back to him: His transformation, his father yelling at him and making him leave, creating the creature, and being attacked by the strangers, before finally passing out.

Kenzo curled in on himself, struggling to come to terms with what was happening. How had everything changed so quickly? He touched the chain sitting around his neck, wishing that Momo were with him. She’d know what to do; she was smart, way smarter than him.

Then again; maybe she would look at him and call him a monster like the others did, once she saw what he looked like.

He choked back a sob. He couldn’t handle the thought of losing his only friend too.

That sound must have been louder than he thought because suddenly, the world of brown around him shifted, and he realized just what it was.

**“Ah. You have awoken My King.” **The creature-broodmother, he remembered-announced as she moved away from him.

He groaned, sitting up. He looked around and saw they were in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by trees. “How long was I asleep?” He questioned.

**“You slept for approximately a day and a half.”** It responded, **“You were exhausted, after creating me and defending us from the human. I brought you here, and shielded you from the elements as you rested.”**

“Uhh, thanks. But where exactly is ‘here’?”

**“We are in a forest.”** It supplied, **“located approximately 22 kilometers from where I was created. I selected this location because it is isolated, and the ground is extremely rich in nutrients and minerals; perfect for a hatchery.”**

**“A hatchery?” **He asked, switching over to telepathy. **“What’s that?”**

**“It is where you can spawn more Zerg, that will form the beginnings of your brood.”**

All that explanation accomplished was to give Kenzo more questions.

**“What are Zerg? And what’s a brood?”**

**“The Zerg are creatures such as myself, that exist solely to obey and protect you. A brood is a group of Zerg that you command.”**

Understanding flashed through Kenzo as he remembered the other names on the list in his head.

**“You mean like drones and zerglings?” **he questioned.

**“Precisely, My King. And there are many others besides, that can all be spawned later.”**

He contemplated that for a moment, attempting to process all the new information. 

**“Ah! I just realized. I never asked what your name is!”**

**“I do not have one.”** It responded, **“It is not necessary unless, of course, you wish for it.” **

Kenzo frowned at that. It didn’t seem right; for them to not have a name. Everyone should have one. But they did say that if he wanted to, he could give them one, right? What name would he even give them? He figured they were probably a girl, if the name broodmother was anything to go by.

After a minute he nodded to himself, deciding. **“How about Aito?” **He asked, **“Does that sound like a good name?”**

**“If that is the name you wish to give me then I shall carry it gladly, my King.”**

He smiled, pleased that they liked it. **“Okay Aito. So, what do I have to do to make a hatchery?”**

**“First, you must create a drone; the same way you created me.”**

Kenzo nodded, closing his eyes as he returned to the list. This time, he focused on a different name ‘Drone’.

As he did, he felt the same tugging sensation from his chest and from behind his eyes. Although, this time it felt like it was tugging less?

He brought his hands together, and saw the purple light again, followed by the worm creature in its center. As with the last time; he touched the light, lowering to the ground as it solidified into a fleshy egg. He took a step back as it started to grow.

This one didn’t grow nearly as large as the last one, but it was still as tall as him by the time it stopped. He noticed the same circle of dead grass around it.

The egg burst apart, revealing a creature that reminded him of a lobster; except for the fins that stretched down both its sides and its overall gray color.

The new creature looked up at Kenzo. It appeared to float several centimeters off the ground. The way its fins moved made it look as though it were swimming in place.

**“Now what?” **He asked the broodmo – Aito.

**“Focus on the mind of the drone.”** Came the response. **“You must take command of it and order it to morph into a hatchery.”**

**“Uh, okay.”** He stared into the eyes of the drone and concentrated, unsure of exactly what he was supposed to do.

Several moments later, he was about to ask Aito another question, when he suddenly felt something.

His mind felt weird. Almost… segmented? He could still feel his mind very clearly, but now there was something else present as well. Something that simultaneously felt like a part of him but also separate.

Then, understanding dawned on him. He finally realized what it was; it was another mind that had connected to his own.

He concentrated on this new mind and was surprised by how empty it felt; as if there was no thought whatsoever. A moment later, a new list appeared in his head. This one was filled with different names than the other one. The only name he recognized was the very first one, ‘Hatchery’. He focused on it; the same way he had when creating the drone.

Then, as if a switch had been flicked, the drone turned into an egg. But this time, it was different. Instead of a spherical egg, it had turned into a dome-like structure. He could see something moving around inside of it.

**“It will grow larger, My King.” **Aito said, **“We must step back.”**

He turned, following them as they walked. Once the broodmother had decided that they were far enough away, they turned back to watch it grow.

And grow it did.

Kenzo watched in awe as, over the course of several minutes, the egg continued increase in size. It was already many times larger what Aito’s had been.

Eventually, the growth began to slow, before finally coming to a stop. It was enormous; easily large enough to fit a house.

The skin of the egg appeared to pulse and strain. Then, as it did with the Aito and the drone, it burst open.

And what it revealed was something looked like it came straight from some from a horror movie. Just looking at it would’ve made him sick to his stomach, were he not already overcome with curiosity and wonder at what he could create with his quirk.

In front of him was a massive… structure… made entirely out of flesh. It was almost shaped like a huge tent; circular at the base and tapering up to a point towards the top. It looked to be approximately 35 meters tall – just as tall, if not taller than the trees that surrounded the clearing – and the diameter at its base was nearly twice that.

It had five long, chitinous spines, not unlike Kenzo’s armor, extending from its top down to its base, spread along its circumference. Where each of these spines touched the ground there were openings, approximately three meters tall, that led into the structure

As soon as the structure – the hatchery – emerged, a thick, fleshy substance appeared around it. It acted like a liquid, and it began covering the ground; spreading across it at an alarming rate.

He watched as it crept towards them. All plants in its path seemed to be consumed; he saw a sapling dry up as soon as it was touched. Its leaves turned brown and fell as its bark turned gray and brittle, before it collapsed and was completely covered by the substance.

**“What is that stuff?” **He asked, **“And what is it doing?”**

**“That is creep, my King. It is the lifeblood of a hive. It has tendrils that root into the ground to absorb minerals from the soil and convert them into nutrients. The nutrients are then spread across the creep; feeding any Zerg creatures or structures that are in contact with it.”**

**“It will also absorb nutrients from any outside source it comes across, such as plant life, and dead organic matter. It will not, however, do so with live animals or humans.”**

**“So, this stuff will feed you?”** He asked skeptically, eyeing it as it approached them.

**“Yes. All Zerg are able to receive nourishment from creep. It will feed you as well.”**

His eyes widened. “**Really?” **He asked. But before they could answer, it was upon them, gliding harmlessly around their feet as it continued past.

Almost immediately a feeling of hunger, that he hadn’t even been aware of a moment ago, was alleviated.

“Woah.” He whispered to himself. This was all so cool. He could do so many interesting things with his quirk, even if he did look like a monster.

He turned to look up at the Aito, **“What else can I do?”**

**“I will teach you.”**

* * *

Momo turned to look at the seat next to her; the one usually occupied by her best friend, Ken. He hadn’t come to school yesterday, and he was missing again today. She hoped he was okay; it wasn’t like him to miss school; he hardly ever got sick. Maybe something had happened to him.

She shook that thought away. He was fine; she was just overthinking things. He’d be back tomorrow, and she’d be able to show him the first charm for their necklaces. She’d spent all of last night practicing, making sure it was perfect.

_‘Yeah! He’ll be here tomorrow.’ _She thought to herself, fixing a smile on her face.

That thought was quickly dashed from her mind as she saw the principal of the school come into the classroom. He spoke quietly to her teacher, she could've sworn she heard him whisper Ken's name.

A moment later, both adults turned to look at the class. Her teacher spoke up.

"Attention class, I have an announcement to make." He began, "I've just been informed that your classmate 'Kenzo Okura' has disappeared. He has been declared as missing."

And just like that, Momo's world began to crumble around her.

Ken, her best friend in the world, was gone. Had something happened to him? Was he okay?

What if he never came back?

The rest of the day passed in a haze after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Momo: “Everything is fine!”  
Narrator: “Everything was not fine.”
> 
> Aito: teaches Kenzo how to make Zerg  
Kenzo: *John Mulaney voice* “What’s that? I can create hordes of deadly creatures? All right, proceed.”
> 
> So, this chapter described a couple of Zerg concepts. I'm sorry if that was a lot of information for anyone unfamiliar with Starcraft.
> 
> Something that I learned is that Zerg are hard to describe in writing and that the actual sizes of Zerg units/structures are insane.
> 
> I found a good chart to use for comparing their actual sizes (It's also the reference I used for the Hatchery)
> 
> https://www.deviantart.com/xiaorobear/art/Starcraft-to-Scale-Zerg-Chart-old-474160433
> 
> Also, who's ready for, like, an eleven year time skip??


	7. New Growth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see Kenzo again, for the first time in eleven years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm already posting the next two chapters, because I zero impulse control and about six brain cells.
> 
> So enjoy.

Kenzo sighed, enjoying a light breeze as it swept across his face. He was standing on the edge of a rooftop in downtown Musutafu, gazing up at the starry sky. The night had been relatively quiet; not much activity at all.

He rather enjoyed nights like this; everything was peaceful and quiet as the city slep-.

He was pulled from his thoughts when his enhanced hearing picked up a scuffle in an alleyway about three blocks away. It sounded like a mugging in progress.

_‘So much for peaceful.’ _He thought bitterly, sighing again; this time in annoyance; as he took off across the rooftop.

It didn’t take long for him to reach the conflict; his quirk gave him enhanced speed and agility, among other things. Looking down into the alley, he observed the situation. The mugger was a man with a knife where his left hand should’ve been, Kenzo suspected that the man could likely do the same with his other hand. The idiot was brandishing his knife-hand, almost waving it around as he yelled at another man on the ground, demanding his wallet.

_‘So much wasted movement.’ _Kenzo thought to himself as he watched the interaction. _‘Just hold still. You don’t need to flail about to be intimidating.’_

Soundlessly, he dropped down behind the mugger. Neither man noticed Kenzo until he threw a kick aimed at Knife-Hands’ left arm. There was an audible ‘snap’ as the kick landed, and the mugger was thrown into one of the adjacent buildings.

He could tell the man was still barely conscious, so he walked over to where he had collapsed onto the ground. Placing a clawed hand over the man’s forehead, he sent a pulse of psychic energy into his mind, knocking him out entirely and ensuring that he would stay that way for a minimum of six hours. Plenty of time for the police to secure him. He wrapped his tail around the mugger’s neck and lifted him off the ground, careful not to put too much pressure on his windpipe.

Kenzo ignored the frantic “Thank you!” coming from the would-be victim as he stood back up, now with the man in tow behind him. Then, his wings spread slightly as he took off into the air, flying away softly.

Soon, he was hovering above the police precinct. He wrapped himself in invisibility before lowering himself to the ground in front of the building, not wanting to expose his identity to the cameras situated around the entrance. He gently deposited the mugger next to the door, in plain view of anyone that would walk past.

His task now completed, he rose back into the air, noticing the light beginning to appear on the horizon. He quickly rose to the top of one of the surrounding buildings, calling out with his mind as he passed by.

**“Come on Tamotsu, let’s go home. I’m done for today.”**

As soon as he said that, a shape emerged over the edge. It was the massive form of one of his Zerg. This one was a particularly deadly variant of one of his more common creatures; dubbed the Hunter-Killer.

At its full height, it towered over Kenzo at 4.5 meters. It was almost humanoid in appearance, but instead of legs it had a long snake’s body and instead of hands, it had enormous scythe-like blades. It had an overly large head that jutted out away from its body, with large mandibles on either side of its mouth.

Tamotsu was created for the specific purpose of guarding Kenzo whenever he wasn’t at the hive, usually following him around when he went on patrol, as he was tonight. Despite doing this for years, Kenzo was still amazed that Tamotsu had, so far, remained undetected. He was quite stealthy for a creature the size of a truck, whose weight was measured in the thousands of Kilograms.

Large, insectoid wings unfurled from underneath Tamotsu’s exoskeleton, and he launched himself into the air after Kenzo. The two of them made their back towards the forest that had served as his home for the last eleven years.

Over that time, he had learned much about his quirk. It went much farther than simply creating and commanding the Zerg.

His physical transformation had given him a whole host of abilities. He had enhanced strength, speed, agility and endurance thanks to his new, denser musculature. His hardened skin and carapace gave him greatly enhanced durability. It had been discovered, very much by accident towards the beginning of his vigilantism, that this durability made him bulletproof. That particular criminal had very nearly ended up in pieces, and would have, had Kenzo been unable to reign in Tamotsu.

His new body also enhanced all of his senses, which he had discovered the first day in the alley.

In addition to all of the new physical changes, he discovered that he now had access to new mental ones as well, which he had taken to calling “Psionics”. This power allowed him to move objects with his mind and to look into, but not control, the minds of humans; telekinesis and telepathy. These also extended to affecting the minds of others, as he had done with the mugger, and detecting the minds of living organisms within a certain radius of himself, as well as flight and invisibility. 

All of this served him quite well when he went out on patrol.

Kenzo was 13 years old when he made the decision to become a vigilante. After several years of training his quirk, learning his strength and what he was capable of, he realized that he still wanted to be a hero.

He knew he could never become a real hero; they wouldn’t let a monster like him become one. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t still help in his own way, traveling the rooftops at night, stopping would be muggers and rapists, depositing them at the police station to be taken care of.

The police weren’t exactly happy to have a vigilante on the streets, using their quirk on people without permission. He would watch them occasionally as they collected the criminals from their doorstep. One man in particular, by the name of Naomasa Tsukauchi, would get particularly exasperated whenever he brought a new one. But Kenzo knew, from occasionally peeking into his mind, that the man was secretly relieved that so many criminals were being put away, even if it was done illegally and he had to go through a mountain of paperwork each time.

That alone was enough to ensure that Kenzo kept doing it; knowing that there was at least one person that appreciated it.

* * *

Before long, the pair arrived back at the hive. It had grown significantly in the decade since its formation. The clearing, centered around the hatchery, had increased to nearly double its original size; almost 300 meters across. Underground, though, is where most of the growth took place. Tunnels and chambers had been dug out like a massive ant hill. They extended over a kilometer down into the ground in some places and spread across a great deal of the forest.

It was there that most of his brood resided. Sure, he kept a few dozen above ground to guard the hive. But he had many hundreds more living below.

One thing he had learned how to do, was delay when an egg hatched. Instead of hatching as soon as it was ready, it would sit in a sort of stasis; waiting until he needed it. There were entire chambers filled with thousands of these eggs.

Kenzo touched down in the clearing, in front of his broodmother, Aito, who was waiting to greet him.

**“Greetings my King. You have returned.” **She announced, bowing in her unique way.** “Were you successful?”**

The “success” that Aito spoke of was whether or not he had managed to apprehend any criminals. It was something she asked every time he returned. It was comforting in a way, almost like a little ritual that took place whenever he got home.

**“I was.” **He replied, **“I apprehended one criminal without any complications.”**

**“Very good my King.”**

He hummed in acknowledgement, moving to walk past her. **“I’m going to rest. You may return to what you were doing. Tamotsu, you rest as well before returning to your guard post.” **

**“Yes, my King.” **They both responded, Tamotsu’s voice a much deeper rumble in his mind.

Kenzo made his way to the hatchery, through one of its entrances. He followed a tunnel down to a large underground chamber. Sitting in the center of this chamber, was a circular depression into the floor. This was where he slept.

Sleeping on the ground probably shouldn’t have been comfortable but for some reason, after his transformation, he was never bothered by things like that.

As he drew closer, a head popped up from the depression. It belonged to a Zergling, a four-legged creature the size of a large dog. It had an impressive mouth of fangs and two large horns on either side of its face, starting from behind its jaw and curving around its face.

This specific Zergling was the first one he had created and the oldest Zerg in his brood besides Aito. He had named it Ichirou.

He moved into the depression, laying down directly in its center. A moment later, Ichirou was lying next to him, head situated on Kenzo’s chest.

Since the day Ichirou had been created, he had always curled up next to Kenzo as he slept. To the point where he had difficulty sleeping if Ichirou wasn’t there.

Curling an arm around the creature, he quickly drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kenzo loves all his Zerg. And his big, alien mom supports his vigilantism.
> 
> Zerg creatures are still hard to describe. If you want a visual, google "Hydralisk" for Tamotsu and "Zergling" for Ichirou.
> 
> And I know that Hunter-Killers don't have wings but I felt like doing it anyway.


	8. Resurface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to see Aizawa again. And the stage is set to begin moving the plot forward.

Kenzo was amazed at the sight in front of him. It was a couple nights later, and he was sitting, crouched on the edge of a roof, overlooking an alleyway where a gang fight was taking place.

Or at least it _was _a gang fight, before this tired-looking man entered the scene and began taking people down with nothing but his fists and a ridiculously long scarf. Now it was just a slaughter as the man danced around the assailants.

There were no wasted movements with this man. Every action was performed with purpose. Redirecting a strike to hit someone else, wrapping a man up in the scarf, then flinging him into another, taking both out at once. Aiming kicks at another’s head to disable them before moving to dodge another flurry of blows.

Even more strange was that the criminals’ quirks seemed to stop working whenever they went to attack the man.

Within minutes of arriving, the man, who was surely a hero, had taken down every single one of the attackers and was now moving to tie them all up.

Suddenly, the man froze, before spinning around to look up at where Kenzo was positioned.

Taking that as his cue to leave, Kenzo stepped back from the edge of the roof, out of sight of the hero. He took off into the air, calling for Tamotsu to follow. He decided to end his patrol early, not wanting to risk a run-in with the hero. Within moments, the two of them were high in the air, heading back to the hive.

* * *

Shouta released a breath as he incapacitated the last one. It was a group of idiots that had gotten into a gang fight, probably over some stupid territorial dispute. He blinked, letting go of his quirk, alleviating his now-irritated eyes.

He moved to begin securing the criminal, tying their wrists and ankles together so that they couldn’t escape before the police arrived.

He froze, the hairs on the back of his neck rising. He was being watched. Turning around sharply, he looked up to the rooftops, where the feeling had originated.

Looking down at him, was a pair of glowing purple eyes. There was a shadow crouched on the rooftop.

As soon as he saw that Shouta had noticed him, the figure disappeared over the edge of the roof. A moment later, he heard what sounded like a giant insect taking off.

He threw out his capture weapon, pulling himself up to the rooftop. Looking up into the sky, he could barely make out two silhouettes flying away. One was massive, with a body trailing behind it like a snake. The other was much more normal-sized but seemed to have a large pair of wings upon his back and a long tail.

Shouta froze again, the sight bringing forth an almost-forgotten memory.

_“It was hard to tell because it was dark, but it looked all purple. It looked like it had some sort of shell, almost like a bug. And it had big bony wings on its back, and a long tail. I don’t know about age. It looked like it might’ve been around seven or so. Maybe eight.”_

His eyes widened. _‘Bony wings and a tail, and accompanied by a large creature of some sort.’_ He thought to himself. _‘It couldn’t be, right?_

He pulled out his phone, first things first; he needed to take care of the pile of criminals he’d left in the alleyway.

A short phone call and several long minutes later, and there was a crowd of officers working to load everyone up into police cars. He was standing with Tsukauchi, giving his report. His mind kept going back to the figure that had been watching him. They had to be a vigilante of some kind; a hero wouldn’t have just watched like that, and there weren’t many people that could sneak up on Shouta.

“Tsukauchi.” He began, seeking answers. “You said that you’re dealing with a vigilante, right?”

“Yeah, and they’ve given me a literal mountain of paperwork since they arrived.” The detective responded with only a slight amount of bitterness in his voice. “Why?”

“Tell me about them.”

“Well, they’re good. In the five years since he appeared, he’s caught a number of criminals and saved many would-be victims. He’s also never caused too much damage to any of the ones he’s caught; never anything more than a broken bone or two. And he is either incredibly skilled in martial arts and adjusting his strength to match his enemy, or part of his quirk allows him to render people unconscious; everyone he brings in always stays out for almost exactly the same amount of time.”

Shouta nodded. Even if it was a vigilante, at least they were a _skilled_ vigilante. There were too many out there that were just sloppy; either allowing the victims to get hurt or using excessive force on criminals. Those people usually did more harm than good. “What do they look like?”

“We’ve never managed to catch him on camera, despite the criminals always ending up right on our doorstep. And there haven’t been many witness reports. Those who have seen them have described them as male, with some sort of exoskeleton, and with wings and a tail. He never stays to speak with the witnesses; always leaving as soon as he’s apprehended the criminal.”

Shouta frowned. That description almost perfectly matched up with the figure he’d seen, and even worse, it matched up with Kenzo Okura’s description from eleven years ago.

“I think I saw him tonight.” He finally said.

Surprise was evident on Tsukauchi’s face. “Really? He’s never let himself be seen before, except for the people he’s saved.”

Shouta nodded. “Yeah, he was just sitting up on the rooftop, watching me. Once he saw that I had noticed him, he vanished. I got up to the rooftop in time to see him and another figure flying into the distance.”

“What direction did they fly in?”

Confused, Shouta told him, as best as he could figure, where they had been flying.

After a moment, he spoke up again. “Tsukauchi. His description exactly matches that of the missing kid from all those years ago; Kenzo Okura. And the other figure he was flying away with was some sort of giant creature; the same as the witness report from that incident.”

The detective’s eyes widened at that. “Now that you mention it, they _do _seem to match up. How did I not notice something this obvious before?”

“Because it was eleven years ago. And unfortunately, there are too many missing persons cases floating through the system. Don’t worry too much about it.”

He frowned, “Well, it doesn’t make up for my failure to notice something so obvious, but with your report we might have a possible location for him.”

“What do you mean?” Shouta asked.

“The direction you said he was flying in. That’s towards the forest. Over the past few years, there have been reports of strange creatures there. We’ve not done anything about it yet because there have never been any attacks. We’ve just written them off as a new variety of quirked animal.”

“But now that you’ve seen the vigilante flying off in that direction, especially accompanied by that creature. It’s possible that he’s associated with those that have been seen in the forest.”

“We should investigate.” Shouta said, “He’s a vigilante; a good one, and I don’t doubt that he wants to help people rather than hurt them. But unfortunately, he _is _still a vigilante, so we need to try to bring him in.”

“Agreed. If for no other reason than to confirm if he really is Kenzo Okura. Not to mention all the strange creatures. There haven’t been any attacks yet, but we need to confirm their origin, and whether or not he has anything to do with them.”

Shouta nodded, thinking. “I’ll talk to Nezu and get him involved. If this really is Kenzo, then he’d be about the right age to attend UA. He’s clearly shown a desire to help people and based on what you’ve said, he has the potential to be a hero. I’d hate to see him locked up and have that potential wasted, and I’m sure Nezu will feel the same way.”

“Alright, I’ll get to work on getting a team of heroes together to investigate. If Nezu can come up with an appropriate alternative to him being locked up, assuming that it is him, then he’ll have my support. Nezu has worked with the police before, and his position as the head of the number one hero school does give him some room to weigh in on these types of matters.”

“Thanks, Tsukauchi. Let me know once there’s a plan in place, I’ll talk to Nezu in the morning.”

With that, Shouta turned to walk out of the alley. For the first time in a while, he was going to end his patrol early. He felt that he was going to need his strength in the coming days, starting with having a meeting with the rodent in the morning.

He sighed. There was that feeling in his gut again; the one that told him that one of his problem children was about to cause him a headache.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aizawa: *Catches one (1) glimpse of Kenzo after 11 years*  
Aizawa: “My problem-child-senses are tingling again.”


	9. Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizawa leads a search for answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one chapter today.

Shouta looked at the group of heroes that had been gathered for this recon mission. He had been selected to lead; for his ability to potentially negate the quirk of the vigilante, which was still unknown, and because he is the only hero who has even seen them thus far.

They had All Might and Endeavor in the group, both for their combat potential. As much as Shouta didn’t care for All Might and absolutely despised Endeavor, he couldn’t deny that they were strong. The heroes had next to no clue what they were walking into; an almost completely unknown, yet seemingly proficient vigilante and quite possibly an unknown number of mysterious creatures.

Also included, was the hero group Pussycats; for their combat potential, their familiarity with forest terrain, and how useful their quirks were for the mission.

Mandalay and Ragdoll would be useful for communication between and watching the conditions of the members of the taskforce. Pixie-Bob was there for her ability to create golems as a potential countermeasure to whatever creatures they may encounter. And Tiger was there purely for his strength in combat.

Finally, there were the two lesser known, yet still useful, heroes. Sirius, sidekick to the Pro Hero Selkie, was there for her quirk “Good Ear” which gave her greatly enhanced hearing; perfect for a recon mission. Backdraft, a hero that usually worked with the fire department, was mostly there because the world’s number one literal hothead was there. Fire and forests didn’t mix well together, so backdraft was to contain any damage done by Endeavor.

They were going into this mission prepared.

Shouta spoke up, catching the attention of the assembled heroes. “We’re going to be moving out soon. Remember; our primary objective is to confirm the existence, or lack thereof, of a known vigilante who is suspected to be living in this forest. The secondary objective is to investigate the presence of unknown creatures that have been reported as living in the forest, scaring away visitors. There is a possibility that the two situations are connected. It is because of that, and because of the unknown capabilities of the vigilante, that all of you have been chosen. Are there any questions?”

He was glad when there weren’t, he had already spoken much more than he would’ve liked.

“Alright then. I will be walking ahead of the group, Sirius and Mandalay will walk with me to watch for anything and incase I need to communicate with the rest of you. The rest of the Pussycats and Backdraft will take up the rear, and All Might and Endeavor will be in the middle.”

To be honest, most of the formation was chosen for the purpose of making sure Endeavor didn’t do anything stupid; Backdraft would be behind him, watching for anything that might catch fire, and All Might was the only one in their group besides Shouta who could suppress the flaming idiot.

“The reports of the creatures begin about four kilometers in, so that is where we will begin our search. Let’s go” With that, he turned and began walking into the trees, the other heroes taking up their positions.

They barely made it about two kilometers in when Pixie-Bob stopped them.

“Whoa. Holy cow!” She exclaimed behind them.

The group stopped to look back at her. “What is it?” Shouta questioned.

“Tunnels.” Came the response, “Lots of them. It’s a massive system of tunnels reaching from deeper in the forest. They range in size from about a meter wide to nearly ten and extend down farther into the earth than even I can see. They’re _everywhere_.”

“Is there anything moving in them?”

She closed her eyes in concentration. “I think so. But there’s not much, and none that’s close to us.”

Shouta nodded, “Keep us informed.” Then he turned and continued walking deeper into the forest.

A couple kilometers further, Pixie-Bob spoke up again. “I’m detecting a bit more movement, but still not much near us. There _was_ something directly beneath us, but it moved away pretty quickly.”

That did nothing but put them further on edge. Shouta didn’t like this.

* * *

Kenzo was preparing to head back out to Musutafu to start his nighttime patrol when he noticed something rather strange. One of the Zerg he had stationed in the tunnels near the edge of the forest had detected a group of people entering his territory. It had noticed about nine people walking straight for the hive.

He frowned. This was different than the usual people that came to visit the forest. Nobody had ever come at night, and never in such a large group, even during the day. Something told him that he wouldn’t just be able to scare these people away with a few Zerglings, as he normally would.

Kenzo came to a decision; he would intercept the group himself. He selected nine Zerglings that were waiting in the chambers beneath him and had them move towards the group of people. He would send more, but he didn’t want the people to panic and start attacking. The Zerglings would use the tunnels and come out from underground, right in front of the group.

Once they were away, he began moving in the direction of the people as well. **“Come with me Tamotsu. We need to figure out what they want.”**

The Hunter-Killer moved into position behind him and together, they took off running (or slithering, in Tamotsu’s case) into the trees at the edge of the clearing.

* * *

Pixie-Bob’s shout once again caused them to stop, although this time she was much less calm.

“Eraserhead! There’s a group of something moving in the tunnels. It’s heading straight for us from the direction we’re headed, and it’s fast.” She yelled out from behind them.

Shouta cursed. “Prepare yourselves! Be ready to fight!”

The group of heroes sprang into action, each moving into position. All Might and Endeavor took their spots at the front of the group, with Shouta directly behind them. Meanwhile Backdraft and Sirius, being less combat-oriented heroes, moved to the rear of the group with the Pussycats.

They waited for several tense moments, watching the forest around them for any sign of the mystery assailants.

Pixie-Bob called out, “They’re almost here.”

Almost as soon as she said that, they felt a trembling, and the ground burst open several meters in front of them. It revealed nine monsters, standing in a group facing them. Each one appeared to come straight from some kind of horror movie, or maybe an alien one. They were four-legged beasts, each the size of a very large dog. They all had a mouth full of very sharp-looking teeth and eyes that seemed to glow like fire in the darkness.

But strangely enough, they didn’t move to attack; just standing there staring at them. It was like they were waiting for something.

Just as All Might and Endeavor were about to launch forward, Shouta yelled out to them.

“Wait! Don’t attack!”

Endeavor turned back to him, “Why the hell not!? Look at them! They’re clearly the monsters we were told about.”

Shouta shot a glare at the flaming idiot; one that would’ve normally made whoever it was directed at shrink away. “I am looking at them. And right now, they’re not attacking us. If they had wanted to, they likely could have popped out from right under our feet. But instead, they appeared well in front of us and in clear view, and it looks like they’re waiting for something. So. Stand. Down.”

Endeavor growled but complied; his flames dying down.

They waited for several more tense minutes. Neither parties’ eyes left the other.

Mandalay’s voice echoed through their heads. **“Eraser, Sirius says something’s approaching from directly ahead. It sounds like a human, but there’s something else there as well.”**

He nodded, looking past the monsters, into the darkness.

A moment later, he saw two points of light emerge from the darkness, a bright, vibrant purple. The same eyes that had been watching Shouta a few nights before.

Soon after, the rest of the figure came into view. It was a kid, about the same age as his students. The kid stood about two meters tall and their skin was a dark purple. They weren’t wearing any clothes but was covered in a thick looking chitinous armor. The strangest features however, and the ones that all but confirmed his identity, were the large, skeletal wings upon his back and the long tail that was waving slowly in the air behind him.

Before any of the heroes could speak, a voice rang out in their heads. But this time, it wasn’t Mandalay; it sounded much louder and seemed to reverberate with power.

**“Who are you and what do you want?” **The voice demanded, **“You are trespassing into my territory.”**

Endeavor’s flames began to flare back up and he growled, clearly unhappy with how he was being spoken to. Shouta moved to step past the idiot, to speak to the kid when suddenly, another shape emerged from the darkness.

Directly behind the kid, the shape moved forward, revealing a truly _massive _creature. It looked to be more than twice the height of the kid, even dwarfing All Might, who was already huge. Its lower body was that of a snake, and instead of hands, it had long, scythe-like blades that looked like they could cut a man clean in two. Its head extended forward unnaturally far, and its eyes appeared to glow with hatred as it stared down at them.

At the arrival of this creature, several of the heroes uttered cries of shock. Endeavor’s flames flared even further as he prepared to attack. “What the hell is this monstrosity!?” He took a step forward, arm raised.

In response to Endeavor’s flames and shouted question, the kid’s eyes flared an even brighter purple; sclera and all. Purple smoke began trailing from the corners of his eyes. He rose into the air, wings unfolding threateningly and tail thrashing through the air behind him.

**“_He,” _**The kid began, putting extra emphasis on that word. **“Is mine. And if you seek to attack him, know that we will respond in kind. Just because I wish to avoid killing humans does not mean I am unwilling.” **The other creatures were crouching down, growling, as if to emphasize what he said. The pure bloodlust emanating from the kid was nearly paralyzing. If it came to a fight, Shouta firmly believed that they likely wouldn’t stand a chance. And that was including All Might being on their side.

Before the flaming idiot could get them all killed, Shouta activated his quirk. Immediately the flames disappeared, the heat quickly dissipating. “Stand down Endeavor.” He ordered. “We’re not here to fight if we don’t have to.”

The man looked ready to snap back at him, before meeting Shouta’s gaze, which was mirrored by the usually jubilant All Might. He likely realized that he was outmatched, and seemed to barely get his anger under control, before stepping back and moving towards the rear of the group.

As he walked away, Shouta looked back to the kid, who hadn’t moved. “Relax kid, we’re not here to fight.”

He seemed to calm down at that; the creatures all resumed their previous positions of silently watching them. His eyes returned to normal and his wings refolded behind him, though he remained floating in the air. The suffocating aura disappeared as the situation diffused.

He looked to Shouta, as the voice rang out once more. **“So you say, but then why have you come here?” **

“We came here for information, and to confirm a few things.” Shouta answered. “But first I have a question for you. Are you Kenzo Okura?”

His eyes widened, and he floated backwards until he was right next to the huge creature’s head. **“How do you know that name?”**

Shouta hadn’t been expecting that reaction. Surprise maybe, but Kenzo looked like he was ready to run away from them. He supposed that made sense though; for all he knew, the kid had probably believed that everyone thought he was dead.

“Easy kid. I was the one that first realized you were missing.”

Kenzo’s brow furrowed. He seemed to think for a moment. **“Alright, I’ll answer your questions.” **He agreed. **“But only on one condition.”**

“What is it?”

**“It can only be with you and All Might. I don’t trust the others.”** His eyes flickered over to Endeavor as he said this.

Shouta thought for a moment, it was a potential risk, but he trusted Kenzo and he wanted to confirm everything. He glanced over at All Might, who nodded at him. “Alright. You have a deal.”

He turned around to face the other heroes. “The rest of you, return to the Heroes Association. Mandalay, I’m placing you in charge. Inform them of what’s happened. We’ll check back in once we’re done here.”

The other heroes, to their credit, barely reacted to the sudden development. They either trusted Kenzo, like Shouta did, or were fine with it because of All Might’s presence. They all nodded, with the exception of Endeavor who merely scowled at Kenzo, and turned to begin walking back the way they came from.

Once they were gone, Kenzo spoke up. **“If you agree, I would take you both back to my hive to answer your questions. I suspect that will make things easier.”**

“Your hive?” All Might questioned.

**“It’s where I live.”**

Shouta responded. “Sure kid. It’s fine with us.”

Kenzo nodded. Then without any sort of command all of the creatures, including the huge one, turned away and began moving back from where they came. He waited another moment, looking at the two heroes, before doing the same. **“Follow me.”**

They complied, moving to walk behind him. Together, the three of them made their way deeper into the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Endeavor: *calls Tamotsu a monster*  
Kenzo: *eyes glowing* “Don’t talk to me or my giant killing-machine son ever again.”


	10. Questions and Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizawa and All Might learn some things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There won't be a chapter tomorrow, sorry. I will update again on Monday.

Kenzo… was not sure what to think at the moment.

He had gone out with Tamotsu to stop what he thought was a group of invaders, only to find a group of heroes; led by the tired man he’d watched a few nights ago and with All Might and Endeavor tagging along.

He hadn’t been aware of how much of an asshole Endeavor was. The number two hero had taken one look at Tamotsu and had moved to attack. He saw where the other heroes were shocked at his appearance, but only Endeavor had tried to attack.

Kenzo had been fully prepared to kill Endeavor. He wouldn’t tolerate people attacking his Zerg on sight, not again.

But then Tired Man stepped forward; shut off Endeavor’s fire and had told him not to attack. Then, if that wasn’t enough already, he had known Kenzo’s name. Nobody was supposed to know about him, he’d been living in the forest for over a decade and had assumed that world thought he was dead.

So, to hear that Tired Man not only know who he was, but also claim that he was the one who first noticed Kenzo’s disappearance. It was a bit of a shock, to say the least.

Now, Kenzo was taking both him and All Might back to his hive to answer their questions.

This definitely was not how he saw his night going.

* * *

It wasn’t long before they made it to the clearing. As they broke through the trees, All Might and Tired Man paused to take everything in. They stared at the hatchery, at the center of everything, as it was easily the largest structure there. They were about to continue forward before All Might looked down, and froze at what he saw.

“What is this stuff?” He asked, pointing to the creep, which covered the ground.

**“That is creep.”** He answered. **“It serves to absorb nutrients from the ground and feed myself and my Zerg.”**

“You eat this stuff?”-“Zerg?” Both All Might and Tired Man asked simultaneously.

  
He gestured to the Zerglings and Tamotsu, who were standing around ahead of them. **“All of these creatures are my Zerg. There are many subspecies, but all of them are Zerg.” **He responded. **“And no, we do not eat creep. The nutrients it supplies are absorbed through contact with our skin.” **

Kenzo continued forward, motioning for them to follow. **“Don’t worry, it isn’t harmful or toxic to humans. Though it does tend to make a mess.”**

All Might spoke up again while they walked. “So, you created all these… Zerg? By yourself?”

**“Yes. I can create most of them on my own. But with the hatchery, I am able to create more complex ones and larger amounts at one time.”** He pointed to the hatchery as he explained.

They followed him deeper into the hive. As they drew closer to the hatchery, the form of Aito climbed out of one of its entrances. She made her way over to them, causing the two heroes to falter slightly. She stopped in front of them, before bowing to him.

**“Welcome back my King. I am glad to see you return unharmed.” **She directed her attention to the heroes behind him. **“Are these two humans hostile?”**

He could feel them freeze behind him at her tone, before he answered. **“No, they are guests. They have come seeking answers, and I intend to give them. They are not to be harmed while they are here.”**

**“As you wish, my King. I shall return to the hatchery until you have need of me.”**

**“Thank you.”**

With that, Aito turned to go back to the hatchery, crawling back through the entrance she emerged from.

Kenzo turned to the heroes, who were looking towards the hatchery. They were watching in case Aito returned.

**“That was Aito. She is a broodmother. She is the first Zerg I ever spawned. Please forgive her if she seemed hostile, neither of us have had the best experience with humans. And she is very protective, all of them are.”**

“It’s fine Young Okura.” All Might said. “But if I may ask. What happened to make her so distrustful?”

**“On the day that I first spawned her. not even ten minutes after I did, we were attacked by two humans that thought we were monsters. We were forced to defend ourselves; she had to kill one of them before we ran. She brought me here and taught me how to make all of this.” **He gestured to the hive, all the structures around them as he finished.

He thought he heard Tired Man breathe in sharply at his explanation, but he ignored him. Instead, he directed his attention to the creep at their feet. His eyes glowed as he forced it aside with his power, revealing soft soil beneath it. Creep could be messy, and he doubted the heroes wanted to stay standing through what he assumed would be a long conversation.

Once he was done, Kenzo sat, motioning for them to do the same. Once they had, he began.

**“Now, what questions did you have for me?” **

It was Tired Man who spoke up first. “Okay kid, we had a few things we wanted to confirm. But first, before we get into anything big, I wanted to know: are you able to speak normally, with your voice? I don’t have an issue with your telepathy, but I was wondering since you seem to be using only that.”

That… was an interesting first question. Kenzo thought about it, as far as he was aware, he could still speak normally. It had just been so long since he had. All of his Zerg that could communicate, with one exception, could only use telepathy. It had been years since he had last spoken, at least eight-or was it nine?. It had been about as long since he had discovered that he didn’t actually need to breathe at all, that he didn’t need oxygen to survive.

He decided to try. He took a breath; his first in years. “Y-yes. I can speak.” The words felt almost foreign in his mouth as he spoke. His voice was severely scratchy from lack of use. That would need practice before he sounded normal.

**“Sorry.” **He apologized. **“I think that’s the first time I’ve actually spoken in almost a decade. I don’t even fully remember the last time I took a breath.”**

Both of the heroes’ eyes widened at that.

“D-don’t worry about it, Young Okura. You don’t have to speak if you don’t want to.” All Might assured him, “But do you really not need to breathe?”

**“That is correct.” **He responded, **“I don’t know exactly how, but my biology makes it so that I don’t require oxygen to live.”**

He heard All Might whisper “Amazing.” under his breath.

“So, moving on.” Tired Man spoke up, “The first thing we wanted to confirm whether or not you are the vigilante whose been active in Musutafu for the past five years.”

**“Yes, I am. I was on patrol the other night when you saw me. I was about to leave to go again tonight, before I noticed you entering the forest.”**

Kenzo probably should’ve been more apprehensive about answering that question. He knew that vigilantism was illegal. But he wasn’t worried that they would do anything. They both knew that they were surrounded by an unknown number of Zerg that could easily turn hostile. Besides, he couldn’t explain it, but he felt that he could trust the the two heroes.

Tired Man nodded, “I was surprised when I noticed you. Not many people can manage to sneak up on me.”

He just shrugged. **“You were distracted. When I got there, you were already fighting.”**

Before they could ask another question, Kenzo asked one of his own. **“By the way. What is your name? I know All Might, obviously, but I don’t recognize you.”**

“My name is Shouta Aizawa, kid. I’m the underground hero Eraserhead.”

Seeing Kenzo nod in acknowledgement, Tired M-Eraserhead continued. “The second thing we came to investigate was the existence of unknown creatures living in this forest. You’ve already given us an answer to that though. It’s pretty obvious that your Zerg are the creatures that people have been seeing.”

**“Yes. I’ve been having them scare away anyone that comes too close. They haven’t attacked anybody though; so far, their presence has been enough to dissuade people.”**

“That’s why we’re only just now investigating them. Since there were no reports of any attacks, it was decided that they weren’t a problem. They were just explained away as a new variety of quirked animal.”

“I also wanted to confirm whether or not you were Kenzo Okura. And now that we have; we wanted to know, if you’re comfortable telling us, the events that led to you disappearing.”

Kenzo frowned at that. He had figured that was something they would want to know, but that didn’t make that day any more pleasant to think about. In fact, he made a point of thinking about it as little as possible. But Eraserhead had been nice to him so far, nicer than anyone he’d interacted with since that day. And he’d stopped Endeavor from attacking. Plus, he'd claimed to be the first to realize Kenzo was missing. No, he could at least tell Eraserhead what happened, he deserved the story.

Eyes flashing purple, he called out to Ichirou, who was sitting in his chamber under the hatchery. If he was going to relive the worst day of his life, then he wanted the familiar warmth of Ichirou next to him. He’d been the one to always help Kenzo calm down when his nightmares woke him up, after all.

A moment later, he turned to see Ichirou trotting towards them from the hatchery. The heroes stiffened ever so slightly at his approach. But they quickly relaxed when he settled himself down next to Kenzo, who immediately leaned into him.

**“This is Ichirou, the second oldest of all my Zerg. He will be present as I tell you the story.” **He said, answering their unspoken question.

**“To begin, my quirk was diagnosed as ‘dormant’ shortly after my fourth birthday. It remained as such until some time after my sixth. I never had an issue with that though, even if I was often bullied for being ‘quirkless’. The doctor had said that dormant quirks were usually more powerful, so I was content with waiting.”**

He paused for a moment, before continuing. **“On the day my quirk finally manifested, I had been running from bullies after school. I was hiding in an alleyway, waiting for them to move on. When I got up to move, that’s when it started. My guess is that my body had finally matured enough to handle it and the adrenaline rush I was experiencing was the final push. First, pain shot through my skull and my muscles all seized at once. This completely incapacitated me, keeping me from even screaming as the transformation started.”**

**“My body began burning up after that, as if I had been set on fire. My body started to change, skin falling away to reveal new flesh, my armor quickly growing over top of it. These changes affected my entire body. Soon after, my organs began shifting around inside of me, either reshaping or reforming themselves. My wings and tail were the last things to emerge. After all the physical changes, my mind continued to burn and change for hours afterward, not even letting me fall unconscious.”**

He saw the heroes cringe a bit when they realized how much his transformation must have hurt. Eraserhead spoke up. “I saw the aftermath in the alleyway and figured that it probably hadn’t been pleasant. But I had no idea it was like that.”

Kenzo just shrugged. **“Once I was able to move again, and had recovered enough to walk, I made my way back to my home. It was already dark by that point.”**

He paused again, preparing himself for what came next. His tail was unconsciously wrapping itself around Ichirou.

**“Once I made it home, the first thing I noticed was the smell of alcohol, though I didn’t know what it was at that point. My father was very drunk when he finally stumbled into the kitchen. He said that he’d been drinking to celebrate the fact that I hadn’t come home after school, regarding me as quirkless and worthless. Once he noticed my new appearance, he quickly grew angry, saying that he had waited two years for me to get a quirk, only for it to turn me into a bug.” **

**“After that, he told me to leave; that he didn’t want a monster as a son. When I hesitated, he began throwing beer bottles at me with his quirk. I left pretty quickly after that.”**

Kenzo brought his knees up to his chest, hugging them close as he recounted those memories.

**“I’m not sure how long or how far I ran, but soon I ended up in some park. It was there that I created Aito, completely by accident. Then, soon after she hatched, we were attacked. Just as I told you before, they attacked us on sight because we were monsters. Aito killed the first one when they got close, but the second one had a telekinesis quirk, so her attacks weren’t working on him.”**

**“He got close enough to attack her and I panicked. I didn’t want her to get hurt. So, I reacted with a part of my quirk that I hadn’t been aware of before that. I grabbed him with my own telekinesis and threw him into a tree. Not long after, I collapsed from exhaustion, the events of that day and overuse of my quirk finally catching up to me. Aito picked me up and carried me away, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up here.”**

He grew silent as he finished his story, letting the heroes absorb everything they’d heard.

Eraserhead was the first to speak up.

“Kid. I’m so sorry that you had to go through any of that. You needed someone to help you through such a major change to your body and instead you got hatred and discrimination. I found the alley you transformed in, probably just hours after you left. I wish I could’ve been there faster.”

That wasn’t what Kenzo had been expecting at all. He was expecting them to view him as a monster just as everyone else had, or at the very least blame him for the death of the man who’d attacked him. But instead Eraserhead was apologizing to _him_?

“It might not make up for not being there in time. But your father is in prison right now. I made sure of it after he all but admitted to everything he did to you.”

Kenzo wasn’t sure how to react to that. His father calling him a monster and kicking him out had hurt, sure. But it’s not like it was undeserved; he _was_ a monster after all. He supposed that it did make him feel a little better though; knowing that Eraserhead had been out there fighting for him.

**“Thank you Eraserhead. And don’t blame yourself; I don’t. A lot of things happened that day, and neither of us had any control over any of it.”**

Eraserhead nodded, though he didn’t look entirely satisfied. “Are you okay to continue? We’ve still got a few things we’d like to talk about.”

Kenzo hoped there wouldn’t be too much more.

**“I am. What else did you want to know.”**

“Why did you decide to become a vigilante?”

Kenzo only had to think for a moment before answering.

**“I’ve always wanted to be a hero. But after my quirk manifested, that was no longer an option. So, becoming a vigilante was the only way I could still help people. Even if it is just by apprehending small time criminals.”**

It was All Might who spoke up at that.

“Young man, it is commendable that you are doing everything you can to help others. But why do you say that becoming a hero is not an option for you?”

Kenzo would’ve scoffed at that, if he’d had any air in his lungs to do so. Gesturing vaguely at himself, he responded. **“Look at me. Who in their right mind would allow a monster like me become a real hero? Besides, even if I wasn’t one, I don’t have the means to apply to any hero school.”**

“Kid. You’re not a monster. No matter what anyone has said to you in the past, or what you might think now, you aren’t. It’s not appearance that makes somebody a monster, it’s their actions. And so far, all your actions have done is prove that you have what it takes to be a hero.”

His eyes widened. This man was saying that Kenzo wasn’t a monster? He wasn’t sure he believed him; he knew what he looked like after all. But this was the first time that _anyone _had not only not called him a monster but directly say that he _wasn’t _one. Why was he being so nice to him? He’d done nothing to earn it.

Kenzo didn’t get a chance to respond, Eraserhead kept talking.

“And as for not being able to attend a hero school. There is a way. Do you know who Nezu is?”

**“He’s the principal of UA, right?”**

“That’s right. He sent me here with certain instructions. Assuming you did end up being Kenzo Okura and depending on the reasons why you chose to become a vigilante. He gave me permission to extend an offer to you, instead of trying to apprehend you. He would like for you to attend UA; he is willing to give you a spot in the entrance exams as well as cover any costs there might be for uniforms and supplies.”

Kenzo couldn’t comprehend this. Any more and he felt that he would shut down.

**“O-okay.” **He responded, **“What would I have to do?”**

“If you accept, then he would like to meet you in person. The entrance exams are in a month, so he wants to get everything settled as quickly as possible.”

**“When should I meet with him?” **

“As early as this weekend, if you are available.”

Available, Kenzo almost laughed at that. His schedule mostly consisted of his vigilante work, wandering his underground tunnel system and taking care of his Zerg, and sleeping. He was pretty sure he could move some of those very important tasks aside to meet with the man (animal?) that was offering to help him get into the number one hero school.

**“I have nothing to do. I can be there first thing Saturday morning.”**

“That will work. Do you know where UA is?”

He nodded. Of course he knew. Even if he thought he would never be able to attend, that hadn’t stopped him from flying over and observing it from a distance.

“Good. Someone will be there to meet you at the front gate.”

Eraserhead stood up, followed by All Might. “That’s everything we needed to discuss with you for now, anything else can be handled when you come to UA. Did you have anything you wanted to ask either of us before we left.?

He thought for a moment, before looking up to Eraserhead. **“Do you really think a monster like me can become a hero?”**

“Like I said, kid. You’re not a monster. And you’re already a hero, in your own way. You’ve been helping people as much as you can; risking punishment for doing it illegally because you wanted to help.”

Kenzo couldn’t help but smile at that. He said it with such sincerity, like he actually meant all of it. It was nice.

Still smiling, he asked the heroes, **“Are you able to find your way out of the forest? I can give you a guide if you need it.”**

“Don’t worry about it kid, we’ll be fine. See you at UA.”

With that, the two heroes turned and began walking back out of the clearing. Once Kenzo could no longer sense them, he fell backwards onto the ground, staring up into the sky. So much had happened in such a short span of time, and now he was supposed to go meet the principal of UA in three days.

Ichirou adjusted next to him, shifting so that his head was on Kenzo’s chest. Maybe this would turn out okay. Maybe if he went to UA, he would meet more people like Eraserhead, who didn’t immediately see him as a monster.

He smiled to himself as he shut his eyes. That was a nice thought, as unlikely as it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aizawa: “You’re not a monster, and you can be a hero.”  
Kenzo: “Sounds fake but okay.”


	11. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenzo goes to UA and meets with a certain animal.

Kenzo touched down just outside the massive gates of UA. He had, true to his word, arrived first thing in the morning; the sun was just barely coming up above the horizon.

He had to admit he was slightly nervous about meeting Nezu. The animal was one of the smartest beings on the planet (if not _the _smartest). But like Kenzo, he apparently had people discriminate against him because of his appearance. And now He had offered to help get into the number one hero school.

For the first time in years, he wished he had pants to wear.

It’s not like he really needed clothing; his exoskeleton protected his modesty and his body was incredibly resistant to temperature changes. But right now, he was standing outside one of the most famous educational establishments in the world and he didn’t have any clothes on. At least he had a good excuse; living away from society for over a decade sort of reduced one’s opportunities to buy anything, especially when they didn’t have any money.

Still, he was slightly embarrassed. His nerves were shown by his tail, which was currently swishing through the air behind him, much more erratically than it would normally.

After only a few more minutes of waiting, the gates opened up to reveal a woman with deep, purple hair. It was the pro hero Midnight, though she was wearing clothing that was much more appropriate for a school than her normal costume.

“Ah! You must be Okura!” She exclaimed, as her eyes blatantly scanned up and down his body; she didn’t even bother to try to hide it. That just caused his tail to start twitching even worse than it already was. Once more, he wished he had some pants. At the very least, her look didn’t feel like the kind that was appraising a monster.

**“I am. And you’re Midnight, right?”**

Her eyes widened at his use of telepathy. “Oh! That feels weird. Anyways; yes, I am. Follow me. I’m supposed to lead you to Principal Nezu’s office.”

He nodded, as she turned around and began walking toward the main building.

It didn’t take long before they were standing in front of a door that Kenzo assumed would lead to Nezu’s office. Midnight knocked, and they only had to wait a moment before a high-pitched voice called out, “Enter!”

Midnight opened the door for him, closing it back behind him once he entered, careful not to close it on his tail. It seemed as though she wasn’t going to be a part of this meeting.

Inside, he saw a white (mouse? Dog?) animal sitting at a much-too-large wooden desk. Eraserhead was sitting off to the side in a love seat.

“Greetings Okura! I am Nezu! The principal who could be either a dog, mouse, or bear!”

_‘What an odd way to introduce himself.’ _Kenzo thought to himself, _‘Does he actually not know what he is? Or is it something else.?’ _He shook the thought away; that didn’t matter right now.

Bowing slightly, Kenzo took a breath, before speaking. “Greetings P-principal Nezu. Thank you for extending the offer to help me.” He had practiced for most of the three days since speaking with Eraserhead and All Might. Although his voice was still a bit rough from so long without speaking, he had wanted to use his actual voice when he greeted Nezu. First impressions were important after all; he didn’t want to appear rude at all by just using telepathy.

He saw Eraserhead’s eyes widen slightly, apparently surprised at his use of his voice.

“You are very welcome Okura! Based on what I’ve heard from Aizawa and Detective Tsukauchi, you are already a successful vigilante. I did not want to see such potential go to waste simply due to some silly laws against vigilantism.

That was certainly an interesting viewpoint to take on such laws. Kenzo agreed with him of course; it was ridiculous that regular citizens couldn’t use their quirks to defend themselves or others, without being labeled a criminal. But still, those same laws did deter those who would do more harm than good.

The principal continued, “Also, don’t worry about using your real voice while you’re here. Aizawa told me that it’s been some time since you’ve used it regularly.”

Kenzo bowed again, before switching back to his telepathy. **“Thank you. I am practicing, but it will take more than three days to undo years of not using it.”**

“Don’t worry about it. All that matters is that you are working to improve it. Besides, it’s not as if you are unable to communicate without it.”

“Now, onto the purpose of this meeting.” Nezu continued, growing more serious.

“In order for you to attend UA, there are a few things that need to be sorted out. Firstly, is the matter of your guardianship. Currently, you are classified as an orphan, but you are not listed as being under the care of either a person or establishment. Now, obviously you are capable of taking care of yourself, as you have been for the past eleven years. But the problems arise when it is brought into the legal sense. For now, you need to have someone who can make legal decisions for you regarding your health and safety.”

Seeing Kenzo nodding along, he continued.

“Under normal circumstances, we would be able to have UA take legal guardianship, as it is an official educational establishment. However, we cannot do that, since you wish to attend UA as a student. There are several reasons why this is not allowed; chief among them are concerns of showing favoritism in an official hero school as well as the need to have a guardian figure capable of overruling the school when it comes to a student’s health or safety.”

“So, as a solution to this, we have decided that it would be best to have one of the UA teachers take guardianship. There are several who would be prime candidates for this but, if you agree, we have decided that Aizawa would be the best option.”

That was a lot of information to take in all at once. So, in order to attend UA he needed to have a legal guardian, and the person they selected was Eraserhead?

Eraserhead had presumably volunteered for this. Did that mean that he actually wanted Kenzo? No. Surely not. This was just for the sake of convenience and allowing Kenzo to attend UA.

**“What exactly would that entail?” **He asked, wanting more details.

“This would mean that Aizawa would be able to make legal decisions for you; if UA made a decision regarding its students that he did not agree with, he could fight UA on that decision. Additionally, he would be directly responsible for your health and wellbeing. Meaning that, while you may not need it due to your circumstances, he would be required to provide you with basic necessities such as food, clothing, and a place to sleep. UA is, of course, willing to assist with any and all costs of this arrangement.”

Wow, so Eraserhead was making a pretty big commitment with this. Maybe it was based on more than just convenience?

**“Okay.”**

“Okay?”

**“If you have decided that this is the best route, then I have no problems with it.”**

“Excellent! I will have the proper paperwork taken care of before the end of the day. Now, the second matter to discuss is your quirk. Due to the nature of your disappearance all those years ago, your quirk status was never updated from ‘dormant’. I would like to take today to take care of that. So, if you could please walk us through your quirk, that would be wonderful.”

**“Well, for starters, my quirk is named ‘King of Blades’. Mostly because that is how my Zerg creations refer to me. The aspects of my quirk can be divided into three basic parts; physical, Mental, and those that have to do with the Zerg.”**

Nezu nodded, gesturing for him to continue.

**“The physical aspects of my quirk are a direct result of my mutations. It grants me enhanced speed, strength, stamina, and durability, as well as enhanced senses. It also enables me to survive without oxygen and has improved my immune system. Additionally, it has given me wings and a tail, both of which can be completely controlled as extra appendages.”**

**“My mental abilities include telekinesis and telepathy. Additionally, I can detect living organisms within a certain radius of myself and affect the minds of others with psychic energy to render them unconscious. They also give me the ability to fly and render myself invisible.”**

**“As it relates to the Zerg, it really only gives me the ability to create and control them, However, once I have established a hatchery, the variety and amount of Zerg I can create are greatly increased. As far as I am aware, there is no limit to the total number that I can create or control.”**

“Incredible! Such a complex quirk! I can see why you remained dormant for as long as you did. Would you mind demonstrating for us?”

**“Of course. Which part?” **

“For now, just the part that allows you to create these creatures you call Zerg. The rest seems relatively straight forward and can be explored more in-depth once you are a student here.”

Kenzo was tempted to point out that they didn’t know for sure that he would even be a student here. But he didn’t want to be the one to put a damper on the principal’s enthusiasm. After all, no one had ever shown the slightest but of interest in his quirk before. For the most part, people just saw his appearance, thought ‘monster’ and that was it.

**“Okay, but we may want to step outside for that. Spawning Zerg tends to make a mess.”**

“Of course! Let us go!”

Kenzo then witnessed Nezu, the principal of UA, walk over to Eraserhead and crawl up the man’s side until he was situated in his scarf.

To his credit, Eraserhead didn’t even react. He just stood, once Nezu was secure, and led them out of the office. Soon, they were standing out in front of the main building, in the grass next to the central path.

Nezu waved at him. “Whenever you’re ready!”

Kenzo nodded. Then, as he had done so many times before, he chose a name on the list in his head and focused on it. A familiar globe of light appeared in his hands, becoming solid as he touched it. He set it on the ground and stepped back as it began to grow.

A minute later, the fully-grown egg burst apart, revealing two Zerglings. The two Zerglings looked up at him, before climbing out of the mess that used to be an egg, walking over to him. Kenzo looked over at Eraserhead and Nezu, to see them both staring wide-eyed at what had just happened.

He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised; in a matter of moments he had, from nothing, created a pair of fully mature creatures.

**“All Zerg are created in this way, whether it’s me or the hatchery producing the eggs. They are fully mature as soon as the egg hatches, ready to fight. I have several subspecies currently in existence. Of which, a few are intelligent, capable of coherent communication and independent thought.”**

“Amazing!” Nezu announced, “And you said that there is no limit to how many you can create? How many do you currently have?”

**“That is correct, I have not yet discovered the limit, assuming there is one. And I currently have several hundred spawned. They are mostly spread throughout my tunnel system. Though I have many times more than that-that are lying dormant, waiting to hatch.”**

He thought he saw something glimmer in Nezu’s eyes, but it was gone before he could be sure.

“That is incredible. I am pleased to see that you are so familiar with your quirk. I can’t wait to see how you perform in the entrance exam. For now, though, there was nothing else I needed to discuss with you. You are free to head back to your hive. But please, take this.”

He was holding out a cellphone, Kenzo wasn’t sure where he’d even gotten it; he hadn’t seen the principal get it out. “It will be necessary, should we wish to contact you for another meeting.”

Kenzo took the phone, once again wishing he had pants so that he had somewhere to put it. **“Thank you Principal Nezu. You’ve already done so much for me. I have no way to repay you.”**

“Don’t worry about it. Just try your hardest to become a hero and I’ll take that as my payment.”

**“Yes. I promise.”**

With that, he wrapped his tail around the one of the new Zerglings and scooped the other up into his arms. Once they were both secure, he took off into the air, making his way back to the hive. He had a lot of stuff to think about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kenzo is an infinite puppy generator. Sure, the puppies are huge, have lots of teeth and would absolutely not hesitate to kill you. But they are still puppies at heart, and that’s all that matters.
> 
> Also, I just completely pulled all of that legal stuff with guardianship out of my ass. Sorry if not all of it made sense.


	12. Clothes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizawa and Kenzo buy some things.

It was the following week, and Shouta was watching the sky.

Well, technically he wasn’t watching the sky, he was looking for Kenzo. But to any outside observer, he was just enjoying the view.

He was standing outside the main UA gate, waiting for the kid to show up. He’d sent the kid a message that he wanted to meet him again today. But the kid never sent a response; even though the message registered as ‘seen’.

It was possible that maybe he couldn’t meet up that day and just decided not to respond. He didn’t think Kenzo was that kind of person though; to ignore people like that. So, he was waiting, just in case he showed up.

Sure enough, about two minutes before the time Shouta had suggested, the kid appeared in the distance. He touched down soundlessly, a few meters in front of him.

**“Eraserhead!” **The kid began. **“I saw your message! Sorry I didn’t send anything back. I was having trouble figuring out how it worked.”**

Right. Shouta mentally facepalmed. They probably should’ve considered that Kenzo wouldn’t know how to work a smartphone. He’s been separated from civilization since he was a kid, and they’d just handed him a phone expecting him to know how to use it.

“Don’t worry about it, kid. We probably should’ve guessed that you wouldn’t know how to work it. I’ll teach you later.”

The kid visibly relaxed as Shouta said that. He must have been worried that he was being rude.

“Anyways. About what I wanted to meet with you about. We need to go get you some clothes and get you sized for your UA uniform; you’re probably going to need them specially tailored to accommodate your mutation.”

Kenzo looked confused. **“But we don’t even know for sure whether or not I’ll get into UA. There’s no need to spend your money if it might just end up being a waste.”**

What? Did the kid think that Shouta had taken guardianship purely for the convenience if he ended up in UA? Or that if he didn’t make it, that Shouta would just get rid of him?

Sure. Part of the reason he’d been considered as a guardian was because he was a teacher at UA, and it _would _be much more convenient. But he’d also volunteered to do so. The kid had been denied any chance at having a normal life and had pretty much never had a positive interaction with anyone since his quirk manifested. He wanted to make sure the kid got to experience _some _happiness and got the basic care he should’ve been getting all this time. He also wanted to try to make up for not being able to find Kenzo soon enough, that he hadn’t been able to save him.

“Look kid.” Shouta began. He wasn’t the best when it came to talking about emotions, but he _needed _Kenzo to realize that he wasn’t a burden, and that Shouta wanted to do this. “Firstly, it’s not my money that we’re spending. Technically it’s UA’s. But even if it wasn’t, I’d still want to do this. I’m not just acting as your guardian for the sake of you attending UA, and I’m not just going to dump you if you don’t make it in.”

“I’m doing this because you deserve it. You deserve to have a guardian that actually cares for your wellbeing and happiness. And I volunteered because I’m willing to be that person.”

The kid’s expression shifted during Shouta’s tangent. And damn if his heart didn’t break a little bit at the look of disbelief and of ever-so-slight hope that appeared on Kenzo’s face. He could see tears beginning to form in his eyes.

**“You-.” **He started. **“You actually _want_ me?”**

Oh. That almost caused Shouta physical pain. He knew that the kid probably had some serious trust issues. How could he not? For most of his life, people had been calling him a monster; his own father even pushed him away. But this… Had Kenzo really been living for the past decade thinking that he was unwanted?

This would not do at all.

Shouta may not be a very expressive person. Most people might even call him unfeeling. But he was prepared to, to the best of his ability, do anything to show Kenzo that he wanted and cared about him.

He took a few steps forward. “Kenzo. I know it’s been a while since you’ve been able to trust anyone, especially an adult. And I know that you may think that you’re a monster. But, yes. I want you. I want you to have someone you can trust. And I want you to believe that you’re not a monster, no matter what anyone might say.”

Tears were beginning to fall down Kenzo’s face in earnest now.

**“Th-thank you Eraserhead. You’re the first person since… Well, since my quirk developed to not see me as a monster. Let alone everything else you’re doing for me. It feels… nice.”**

Good. At least the kid seemed to believe him. “Like I said, it’s nothing more than what you deserve. And call me Aizawa; Eraserhead is my hero name.”

Kenzo nodded, and Shouta heard him take in a shaky breath. “R-right. Aizawa.”

That warmed Shouta’s heart; hearing the kid say his name with his actual voice.

Kenzo quickly wiped the tears from his eyes, before changing the subject. **“So. You said that we were taking care of clothes today?”**

“Yep, we’re going to head out to the mall.” Shouta pulled out a small bundle that he’d brought with him. Tossing it over to Kenzo. “Here. For now, put these on.”

It was a pair of loose, black athletic shorts and a tank top, both made to accommodate wings and a tail. They didn’t know any of Kenzo’s specific sizes; that was the point of this trip after all, but they needed to give him something so that he wasn’t arrested for public indecency laws while they were out shopping.

A few minutes later and Kenzo was dressed; with only a little bit of difficulty getting his wings through the garment.

* * *

Their shopping venture had been met with success. The mall didn’t have many people in it, which Shouta was thankful for. He had taken a day off from school-though it wasn’t as if he had much to do anyway, all his class had long since been expelled-in order to avoid a huge crowd. He had no idea how Kenzo would react to so many people, and with the kid having wings and a tail that could almost pass as weapons and more instincts than he had social skills, he didn’t really want to find out.

It had been fairly easy to get all of the clothes that Kenzo needed and to get his proper sizes. With quirks being such a huge part of society, clothing manufacturers had quickly filled the needs of people with unusual body shapes and sizes. Most of the clothes he got were shorts and sleeveless shirts; the chitinous spikes growing from odd places on his limbs limiting what he could wear. Though they did get him a few pairs that were specially tailored to fit around them.

His shoes had to be entirely custom-made. The armor on his feet made them an awkward size and the claws required all the shoes to be reinforced at the toe, lest they all be torn to pieces within minutes of being put on.

Now, they were just walking out of the last store. It was about lunchtime.

“Hey, kid. How about we stop for lunch. We’ve got plenty to choose from around here, so take your pick.”

Kenzo paused for a moment, thinking. **“I’m not sure.” **He said. **“I haven’t actually eaten anything for a few years.”**

Right. Shouta forgot. Kenzo had told him and All Might that-that stuff covering the ground was how he got fed. But to think that the kid hadn’t eaten real food, presumably since he disappeared.

Just another thing to add to the list of reasons why Shouta wanted to take care of the kid.

“Well, you’re going to today.” He stated. “C’mon. We’ll start you out with something simple.”

A few minutes later, they were sitting in a booth in one of the many restaurants in the mall’s food court. Shouta had ordered the kid some Udon noodles.

Kenzo’s eyes widened upon taking the first bite (Shouta had to give him a quick lesson on how to use chopsticks). **“Oh my god. I’d forgotten how good actual food tasted.” **He said as he chewed a mouthful of noodles.

Shouta very, _very_ nearly was about to tell the kid not to talk with his mouth full. Before he remembered that he wasn’t actually talking, so that probably didn’t count. It’s not like he could tell him off for thinking with his mouth full.

After they had both finished eating, Shouta took the chance to walk Kenzo through how to use the phone he’d been given. He got the hang of it pretty quickly. It was still surprising that they had managed to overlook the fact that he might not know how to use a phone. Shouta was understandable; he was only human after all, and it was such a small detail. Nezu though; that mammal was smarter than anyone else in UA, likely combined.

Speaking of; he recalled a conversation he’d had with the principal just the day before.

“Ah. I just remembered.” He began, drawing Kenzo’s attention. “Nezu had an idea for something that might be useful to you.”

**“What is it?”**

“Well, he figured that you probably weren’t going to give up your vigilante work. At least not right away. Right?”

Kenzo nodded. **“I want to make use of the time before the entrance exams. Any little bit of experience with combat or using my quirk helps. Plus, I still want to help people.”**

“That’s what we figured. So, he came up with the idea of getting you a license.”

His eyes widened in shock. **“He wants to get me a hero license!?”**

“Easy kid. It’s not a full pro hero license or anything. It isn’t even a normal provisional license. But it is something that means you won’t be breaking the law every time you apprehend a criminal.”

“Essentially, it’s a provisional license with extra conditions attached.” He continued. “It’s all based around the fact that you’ll be a student at UA. Which means that if, for whatever reason you don’t make it, the license won’t be valid anymore.”

**“Alright. What else do I need to know?”**

“For starters, any time you intend to go on patrol, you must let either myself or another pro hero from UA know beforehand. This is made a bit simpler since I’m now your guardian. Also, any time you apprehend a criminal, you have to actually report it to the police instead of just dumping them on their doorstep. This license also gives you permission to intervene in public incidents but, as with your nighttime work, you need to report everything that happens.”

Kenzo nodded. **“Okay, sounds pretty good. Do I have to take an exam or anything in order to get it?”**

“Under normal circumstances, that would be the case. However, the next provisional license exam isn’t until June, and Nezu has decided that’s too long to have to wait. So, with some pulled strings mind you, he’s enabled you to qualify by virtue of your vigilante work. Specifically, how clean and effective you are. To date, you have never caused any property damage, you always apprehend the criminal with minimal injuries, and all the criminals are properly secured due to whatever it is you do that keeps them unconscious.”

“This unusual way of qualifying you is the main reason that the license comes with the extra constraints. The powers that be, want to ensure that you’re at least getting a proper hero course education. Assuming you are in the hero course, and passing it, by the time the next provisional exam comes around, the license will be upgraded to a proper provisional.”

**“So, basically you’re saying that this is unheard of, and an incredible honor and that I should really thank Principal Nezu the next chance I get.”**

“Pretty much, yeah. Though, Nezu has complete confidence that you’ll perform admirably. So do I, for that matter.”

Kenzo smiled. **“I can’t believe I’ll actually be getting a hero license, provisional or otherwise. It’ll be nice to be able to do things legally for once. I’m actually going to be a hero.”**

_‘You already are a hero kid.’ _Shouta thought to himself. He was about to say as such, when he noticed Kenzo fiddling with the small, silver chain around his wrist. Shouta had seen the chain earlier, but he hadn’t thought much of it.

“What’s that chain for?” He asked.

Kenzo startled the slightest bit, like he hadn’t realized what he was doing. He smiled at it wistfully, like it held some fond memory. **“A reminder.”** Is all he said.

“Do you want to talk about it? It’s okay if you don’t.”

**“No. I would prefer not to. At least not right now.”**

Shouta nodded. He could respect that. _‘Whatever it is, it must be pretty important. Maybe it’s even his reason for wanting to be a hero.’ _

* * *

The rest of the day passed relatively quickly. They finished up the rest of the shopping that they needed to get done and even ate dinner once it was late enough. By the time they were done, Kenzo had enough clothing to fill an entire closet; which was exactly Shouta’s goal.

Soon, they were in the car, headed to shouta’s apartment.

**“So, where are we going with all of this?” **Kenzo questioned. **“I could probably take it back to the hive, I’m certainly not lacking in space. But it’ll likely all get ruined pretty quickly.”**

“We’re headed to my apartment. That’s where we’ll keep all of this, at least until you make it into UA, since it’s now listed as your official home.” Shouta had no doubt that Kenzo would make it through the entrance exam. The robots would likely be a pushover for him.

He heard a sharp intake of breath from Kenzo. Likely at the mention that he actually had a real home now.

It wasn’t long before they had arrived at their destination, bags all deposited on the living room floor. Shouta began showing Kenzo around.

His apartment wasn’t much. Just a simple two bedroom with an office, not even really decorated at all. Then again, it’s not like he really needed much. He was a simple person, not to mention that most of the time he lived in the UA dorms.

He brought Kenzo to the second bedroom, the one that had been used as a storage room until he’d cleaned it out a few days ago. There wasn’t much to it; just a bed and the simplest furniture. He’d let the kid decorate it if he wanted to; right now, it looked kind of dull.

“This one is yours.” He announced. “Obviously you don’t _have _to stay here if you don’t want to, since you have your hive. But it might be best if you do; you'll have to get used to spending time away from the hive. Once you’re in UA, you’ll have to sleep in the dorms; we need to make sure we know the whereabouts of our students at all times. However, you’ll be allowed to spend the weekends with your hive if you want.”

Kenzo didn’t say anything, just nodding as he entered the room. He walked over to the bed, with its bland covers, and silently ran a hand across its surface.

“Kid?” He questioned. “You okay?”

Kenzo looked up at him, some unidentifiable emotion in his eyes.

**“No, it’s fine. I just-. First time I’ve had a bed since back then.”**

Shit. How did Shouta keep forgetting things that were so obvious?

“Well. It’s yours now. You’re welcome to sleep in it whenever you want.”

He saw Kenzo get up from the bed, walking towards him. Before Shouta could realize what was happening, he found himself wrapped up in a hug.

He was stunned for a moment, before his brain finally caught up to what was happening. He wrapped his arms around Kenzo, returning the gesture.

Shouta just barely heard the kid whisper to him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, kid.” Damn. Less than a day in and the kid had already deeply rooted himself into Shouta’s heart. Whatever it took, he was going to make sure that Kenzo got everything he deserved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aizawa: *holding Kenzo* “I’ve only had Kenzo for like, a day and a half. But if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.”
> 
> Am I moving things along a bit too quickly with Aizawa and Kenzo? Maybe.
> 
> Do I care? Not really.
> 
> If you want an actual explanation/argument as to why it seemed to move so fast:  
Kenzo has been living on his own for 11ish years with no positive interaction or feedback whatsoever. his last relationship with any adult (his dad) ended with him being chased from his own home with beer bottles being thrown at him. Then Aizawa comes along and: Protects him from Endeavor, says he’s not a monster, says he IS wanted, and actually calls him a hero. Kenzo can’t help but want to believe it all.
> 
> On Aizawa’s side of things, he’s much more caring than his personality would suggest (At least he is in pretty much every single fanfic I’ve read) especially when children are involved. He feels sympathy for what Kenzo had to go through at the hands of his father and everyone else. He also feels guilty that he wasn’t there to save him. So now he has a chance to not only make up for his failure, but also make sure that Kenzo gets to experience something good for once.


	13. Patrolling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenzo continues his nighttime patrols.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the support so far! I'm glad that people are liking this idea.
> 
> That being said, I will unfortunately have to slow down the rate of uploads. A chapter per day is not sustainable. So for now, I will be posting every other day, meaning that chapter 14 will be uploaded on Friday.
> 
> I'm sorry. But it's necessary in order to avoid rushed chapters and to avoid burning myself out.

Once again, Kenzo was out on patrol. He was silently gliding across the rooftops, listening out for any disturbances in the otherwise quiet city. Just as he would any other night, if he were to come across a criminal, he would quickly take them down, secure them, and carry them to the police station.

But this night was different.

On this night, he carried with him a tiny card in the pocket of his new pants.

A card that meant he was patrolling the streets, not as a vigilante, but as a hero.

Just yesterday, the day after the shopping trip with Aizawa, they had gone to UA to meet with Nezu. The principal had walked Kenzo through everything he needed to know about the license. As Aizawa had already explained to him; it worked almost the same as a normal provisional license, with the difference being it would only remain valid if he got into UA.

One of the things they’d had to discuss in order to make the license official, was something Kenzo had barely been able to contain his excitement about.

His hero name.

For the better part of his life, he’d always thought that he’d never get to be a real hero. That, if anything, he’d be forced to remain in the shadows; saving people, but breaking the law every time he did so.

But now he had a hero name, and a license that made it official. It was, quite literally, a dream come true.

He had, of course, chosen to have “King of Blades” as his hero name. It was the name of his quirk, and it was how his Zerg referred to him, so it felt right.

Aizawa and Nezu both remarked that the name might be a little long. But otherwise they had no issue with it and approved it.

So now, here he was, patrolling across the same rooftops and alleyways he always had been, but now legally for the first time.

Speaking of; there was the sound of a fight somewhere off to his left, that brought him out of his thoughts. He changed direction, quickly headed towards the source of the noise. Once he arrived, he looked down into the alley to see four people fighting one another.

Kenzo couldn’t determine if there were any sides to the fight, or if the four of them decided to have a free-for-all in the middle of an alley. As far as quirks; one appeared to have a mutation that turned them into a cat. Another seemed to have a strength quirk if his size was any indicator; the man was built like a truck. The third had steam billowing from all over his body, likely some kind of heat quirk. And the final one didn’t have any visible quirks, or they just weren’t using it.

The muscular one hit the cat-person, sending them flying into a wall, before moving forward to presumably finish them off. Kenzo chose that moment to reveal himself.

He dropped down a few meters from the fight, loud enough to attract everyone’s attention. They all stopped in their tracks to stare at him.

“What the hell!?” Steam-quirk yelled. “Who the fuck are you!?”

Kenzo didn’t respond, opting instead to charge forward towards the person closest to him. Which happened to be the one that Steam-man was fighting; the one with the unknown quirk.

The man reacted just in time, throwing a sloppy punch as Kenzo drew closer. Kenzo ducked beneath it, keeping his forward momentum and driving an elbow into the man’s sternum and sending them crashing to the ground.

The steam-man, having slightly longer to react, thrust his hands out at Kenzo. A torrent of steam rushed towards him. He jumped over it, using his flight to extend it until he was over the man’s head. He flipped forwards, bringing his tail around as he did, striking the man in the center of the back.

With two down, he turned his attention to the muscular one. The man wasted no time, charging forward to slam his body into Kenzo. He rolled to the side at the last moment, before bringing his tail up to hit him in the back, just as he did with the steam-man.

The man just stumbled a bit. He turned back towards Kenzo, rage burning in his eyes. He charged forward once again. But this time once he got close enough, he leapt into the air, ready to bring his fist down onto Kenzo.

A moment before his fist would’ve come crashing down, Kenzo threw out his hand. He caught the man in midair with his telekinesis. He couldn’t do much more than widen his eyes in shock, before Kenzo brought his hand back down, slamming him down into the ground, cracking it ever so slightly.

Sighing, he relaxed as he observed the three criminals he’d just incapacitated. He walked over to the cat-person; he had to determine his status before taking care of anything else. He knew how hard he’d hit the other three, but he had no clue how hurt this one was.

Luckily, they didn’t seem too injured; most likely just a broken rib or two and probably a concussion. Next, he went around to all of them, channeling psychic energy into their minds with a hand on their foreheads, ensuring that they would stay unconscious long enough.

In order to carry them all to the police station, he had to group the smaller three criminals together, before wrapping his tail around all of them. He draped the muscular one over his shoulder, in a fireman’s carry, before finally taking off.

Normally, once he got to the police station, he would just turn himself invisible before dumping the criminal on their doorstep. This time, however, he didn’t have to do that (technically he _couldn’t _do that, or he’d be breaking the rules of his new license). So, with three criminals in tow behind him and one thrown over his shoulder, he walked straight inside.

The woman at the front desk looked quite shocked at the sight in front of her. Kenzo couldn’t tell if she was more surprised by his appearance or by what he was carrying.

He spoke up. **“Excuse me? Could you please get Detective Tsukauchi? These are for him.”**

His use of telepathy only served to confuse her more. She continued to stare in shock for another couple of moments, before silently picking up a phone on her desk and calling for him.

Less than a minute later, the detective emerged from one of the side offices. He didn’t look nearly as surprised to see Kenzo as the woman was, or he was just better at hiding it.

“You’re the one that Eraserhead went out to investigate.” He began. “Kenzo Okura, right?”

Seeing Kenzo nod, he continued. “Eraser said that he’d found you and had you meet Nezu about attending UA. I was hoping that would stop you from pursuing vigilantism. While I commend you for doing it so cleanly, I cannot condone breaking the-”

Kenzo quickly shook his head, interrupting the man’s tirade. **“As of yesterday, it’s no longer vigilantism.” **He said as he fished out his new license, presenting it to the detective.

He eyed it for a moment, before bowing slightly. “Apologies. I wasn’t aware that they’d done such a thing. I’m guessing that’s why you actually brought the criminals inside this time.”

Kenzo nodded. **“It’s alright. And yes, Eraserhead said that I needed to report everything to you.”**

“Good, this’ll make everything easier than writing up reports for villains taken down by a vigilante.” He turned his attention to the criminals. “So, I’m assuming you did the same thing to these four that you do to everyone, to make sure that they don’t wake up for a bit?”

**“Yes. However, the one with the cat mutation; his wounds were caused by this one.”** he said, gesturing at the one who was still on his shoulder. **“When I came across them, all four of them were already fighting each other. I wasn’t able to tell if there were any sides or not.”**

“Alright. Thanks for letting me know. I can take care of everything else; I’ll question them for specifics once they wake up.”

**“Okay. Then I’m going back out to continue.” **He said, setting the criminals on the floor before turning around to exit the building.

He stopped when he heard the detective call out. “Thank you again Okura. I’m glad that Eraser found you, and that you’re on the way to becoming a hero.”

Kenzo wasn’t sure how to respond to that. What was with all the people supporting him recently? Was it becoming a trend? It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate it; he just wasn’t used to being supported by anyone that wasn’t one of his Zerg.

**“So am I.” **He said quietly, before walking out of the door.

He took off into the sky, once again listening out for any disturbances. He was vaguely aware of Tamotsu trailing behind him on the rooftops.

Barely even five minutes later, he picked up the sound of another fight in the distance.

_‘Must be a busier night tonight.’ _He thought to himself, picking up the pace to reach the disturbance.

* * *

This continued for several hours. He’d find a disturbance, incapacitate all of the criminals involved, and carry them all to the police station. During one instance, due to the number of people, he had to call the detective to get him to come pick them up; there were too many for him to carry at once.

Eventually, towards the end of the night, he was hovering over a rooftop looking down at a familiar sight.

On the roof, he saw Aizawa fighting the remains of a group of criminals; most of whom were lying on the ground, unconscious or otherwise disabled. Now it was just him and a massive six-armed man.

Said criminal must’ve been giving Aizawa a difficult time, if he was still up and fighting when the rest of them had already gone down. Kenzo could see why; Aizawa couldn’t erase the man’s quirk, as it was a mutant-type, and his six arms were giving him an edge in close combat. All the things that would normally give Aizawa the advantage, were being countered by the criminal.

When Kenzo saw the criminal catch Aizawa’s scarf after he attempted to throw it, and start to pull him closer, he decided that he had watched long enough. He threw his hand forward, mimicking the move he’d used earlier that night, and immobilized the six-armed man. With all of his arms pinned against his body, Aizawa took the chance to retrieve his scarf, before throwing it back out and wrapping up the villain.

He touched down next to Aizawa, as the man took a moment to catch his breath. **“Hello Eraserhead.”**

“Hey kid.” He said, nodding at Kenzo; if he was surprised to see him, he didn’t show it. “Thanks for the help.” He moved to start restraining all the fallen criminals, while Kenzo remained next to the immobilized man.

**“You’re welcome. I happened to notice the fight after I left the police station.”**

“I assume you were there dropping someone off. How was Tsukauchi?” He said, not looking up from where he was tying a criminal’s ankles together. “And how did you notice this? We’re like, twelve blocks from the station.”

**“He was fine once I showed him the license. And my range of hearing extends pretty far. Besides, I wasn’t right next to the station, I had already been flying away.”**

He heard Aizawa ‘hmph’ under his breath. Then, “Are you sleeping at the hive today, or at home?”

He thought about that for a moment, before answering. **“I’ll sleep at home tonight.”**

Home. He didn’t think he’d ever get over saying that, or the fact that he even _had _one; a proper one. It felt nice.

It was at that moment, that Tamotsu chose to appear. Slithering over the side of the building they were on, much to the displeasure of the six-armed man.

“Holy Shit!” He screamed, thrashing against his bindings, both physical and invisible as Tamotsu came closer. “What the fuck is that thing!? Get it away from me!”

**“Be _quiet_.” **Kenzo hissed, as he clamped a hand over the man’s face, knocking him unconscious. He went limp, remaining standing as he was still being held by Kenzo.

He sighed internally. So much for his good mood.

Shota ignored Tamotsu’s sudden appearance, and the man’s outburst. Instead just moving along to restrain the next unconscious criminal. “Alright. I’ll be heading back as soon as this mess is cleaned up. You should probably do the same; it’s getting pretty late.”

Kenzo nodded. He was still getting used to having someone that cared enough to tell him to head home because it was late. **“Okay. I’ll drop Tamotsu off back at the hive before I head home.”** He floated up to the creature in question, who was staring at him with those unblinking, glowing eyes.

“Sounds good. See you there.”

Without saying anything else, Kenzo took off into the air. Tamotsu quickly followed as they flew off towards the hive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: The entrance exams!


	14. To Prove Oneself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the UA entrance exams.

Kenzo found himself, once again, looking up at the massive gates of UA. Only, this time it was different. His presence here, on this day, held more significance than any other time he’d visited. It was February 26; the day of the entrance exams.

He had been to UA several times over the past month, since Aizawa found him out in the forest. He’d mostly been going to meet with Nezu; the animal loved to sit and discuss the finer points of his ability to create and control the Zerg.

But no matter how many times he stood here, taking in the sight before him, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe. This was the number one hero school in the country, and the goal of anyone who was aiming to be a hero. Many of the greatest one’s in history had come from this very establishment, had been where he now stood.

And now, he was on the path to doing the same.

Kenzo stepped through the gates, joining the crowd of fellow applicants who were making their way to the main building. A few people stood out to him as he walked forward. He noticed someone walking off to his side who appeared to have the head of a bird.

_‘Is that his quirk? Or is there more to it I wonder.’_

There was another, some distance ahead of him, that had a tail. He’d be lying if he said that it didn’t excite him a little; people with quirks that gave them tails were somewhat rare. Unlike Kenzo, whose tail was long and segmented, his was shorter and noticeably muscular. He wondered what kind of control he had over it, and how strong it was. Hopefully he would get to ask sometime.

Then right in front of him, he noticed another with a head of curly green hair.

Right as they tripped over their own feet.

Kenzo reacted, tail shooting out to wrap around the boy before he hit the ground. At the same time, a brown-haired girl reached out to tap the boy’s backpack. Just as his tail grabbed him, a pink glow flashed around the girl’s hand and all of the boy’s weight seemed to leave him.

“Oh! Sorry!” The brown-haired girl exclaimed. “I didn’t know that you were going to catch him. I just thought that it’d be bad luck to fall before the exams even begin, y’know?” She brought her hands together and the boy’s weight suddenly returned. “Good luck on the exams!”

With that, she turned and continued towards the building. Kenzo followed, a moment later, thinking about what her quirk must’ve been.

_‘It was touch-activated, and she touched her hands back together to release it. I didn’t feel any changes to the boy’s body. Which means she must’ve negated gravity’s effect on him rather than his mass. I wonder if she has a weight limit. If not, her quirk would quite literally be a force of nature.’_

A voice brought him out of his thoughts, as he reached the front doors.

“Um, e-excuse me? Could you please put me down?” It was the boy. Kenzo realized he had never put him back down. Other applicants were throwing weird glances at the sight of him carrying another person around. Kenzo hastened to set him on the ground, before releasing his tail.

“Sorry about that. I got lost in thought.” He muttered, with his real voice. He’d been practicing with it a lot over the past month. It was almost back to normal, and it took much less effort to speak with it now.

He studied the boy once he was back on the ground. He was short, almost a full foot shorter than Kenzo’s height of 188 centimeters. He had wide, green eyes that matched his hair and too many freckles across his face, which was suffused in a deep blush, likely because he’d just been carried around by a total stranger.

“D-don’t worry about it. I do it all the time.” He held out his hand. “Thank you for saving me. I’m Izuku Midoriya.”

Kenzo stared down at the proffered hand, perplexed for a moment, before taking it. He was careful not to cut the boy-Midoriya-with his claws. “Kenzo Okura.” He responded.

“Nice to meet you Okura!” Midoriya said as he turned to keep walking to the building. “I’ve got to get to my assigned testing room. Thanks again for saving me!”

Kenzo blinked, watching him walk away. Slightly surprised by Midoriya’s reaction.

He didn’t really see himself as a monster anymore. Aizawa, and the rest of the teachers at UA, had helped a lot in convincing him of that. But he’d still been nervous about what people his own age might think. And he just went and carried Midoriya around with his tail.

Yet, Midoriya didn’t seem bothered by his appearance. He didn’t even mention it. And then he’d thanked Kenzo.

So, yes, his reaction was unexpected.

But not unwelcome.

Kenzo smiled to himself as he resumed his walk into the building. Maybe he wouldn’t have to worry.

* * *

Kenzo sighed as he filed out of the testing room with the other applicants. The test had lasted three hours and seemed to cover nearly every subject imaginable; everything from mathematics to history, physics to Japanese and English. Kenzo had struggled with most of it. It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been; he’d spent a lot of time reading in the library over the years in an attempt to keep up some kind of education. But there was only so much he could do to match up with other kids his age, especially when it came to a test of UA’s standards.

He could’ve used his quirk to make things easier. It would’ve been child’s play to peek into the minds of the other applicants, to find the answers to certain questions. But he didn’t want to do that. He didn’t want to have to cheat to get into UA, especially when it already felt like he was.

The only part of the test he _hadn’t _struggled with was the section about hero laws. He’d looked into the laws surrounding heroics quite a bit before he became a vigilante; in order to know what he was getting himself into. That was probably the only piece he hadn’t completely failed.

He sighed again. All he could do is hope that he’d somehow done well enough to pass, and do his best on the practical portion of the exams.

* * *

After an hour-long break for lunch, provided by Lunch Rush, the applicants were herded into an auditorium for information on the practical portion. Kenzo took his seat, and a few minutes later he saw Present Mic take the stage.

“HELLOOO AND WELCOME LISTENERS!! EVERYBODY SAY HEEY!!” The hero announced.

Kenzo didn’t notice whether or not anyone responded because he immediately clamped his hands over his ears. He hadn’t known how loud Present Mic was, and his enhanced hearing was _not_ liking it.

“LET’S GET THIS SHOW STARTED! ARE YOU READY!?” He continued. “YEAHH!”

He just pressed down harder on his ears, attempting to block out the voice that felt like it was splitting his head open with each word.

He didn’t pay attention to the rest of the presentation. In fact, he did his best to ignore the too-loud voice of Present Mic. He got the gist of the exam from the pamphlet they’d been given though; destroy as many robots as you can in a 20-minute period. He could do that.

Kenzo’s mind was brought back when an applicant stood up out of his seat and began yelling about the number of robots and a kid, who Kenzo noticed was Midoriya, mumbling through the presentation.

“And you!” He yelled, directing his attention towards Kenzo. “You’ve been sitting there with your hands over your ears this entire time. Do you think this isn’t important enough to listen to?”

Kenzo was so tempted to talk back to the kid, or shut his mind down; whatever got him to shut up. But he was too busy dealing with the ringing in his ears and the throbbing in his head to worry too much about one annoying kid.

Present Mic placated the interrupter, answering his questions, and the rest of the presentation finished up quickly. Soon, they were on buses that were taking them to their assigned testing sites.

Kenzo found himself standing in front of Testing Site D. It was amazing, it looked like a miniature city. He looked around at the other applicants. He was glad when he didn’t see the interrupter, but was slightly disappointed that it didn’t seem like Midoriya would be in his testing site.

A girl with what looked like earphone jacks hanging from her ears caught his attention. She was off to the side, massaging her temples like she was trying to ward off a headache. If the jacks were any indication, then she had a sound-based quirk. Kenzo wouldn’t be surprised if enhanced hearing was a part of it.

He decided to approach her to ask if she was alright; he would be able to heal from any damage done to his ears, but it was possible that she wouldn’t.

“Are you recovering from Present Mic as well?” He asked once he was close enough.

She looked up at him, hands still on her head. “Yeah. I wasn’t expecting him to be the one presenting. Or that he’d be so loud.”

“Me neither. It felt like my head was about to split in half.”

The girl smiled sympathetically. “Same here.” She scanned up and down his body, taking in his appearance. “So, you have enhanced hearing as well? I wouldn’t have guessed it, but based on what you’re saying, it sounds like it’s just as sensitive as mine.”

“My mutation enhances all of my senses, among other things.” He responded “By the way, what’s your name? Mine’s-”

He was cut off by Present Mic’s voice, though it wasn’t nearly as bad this time as it seemed like he was pretty far away.

“GOOOO!” He shouted, the doors to the exam site opening as he did.

Kenzo didn’t hesitate, immediately taking off at a sprint through the gates. The other applicants stood around for another moment before Present Mic yelled out again.

“WELL? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? THERE ARE NO COUNTDOWNS IN REAL LIFE! GO! GO! GO!”

With that, the others quickly scrambled into the mock city.

Kenzo rounded a corner, darting into a narrow alleyway. In front of him were two robots. Based on their appearance and the large number “2” painted on their sides, they were both two-pointers. He dashed forwards at the first one. Its tail thrust towards him like a scorpion, much slower than he’d been anticipating.

He dodged to the side, before thrusting both his wing tips forward. They pierced its head, metal crumpling like paper. It fell, and the second robot quickly followed after his tail was driven straight through its chest.

_‘Huh. These are weaker than I thought they’d be.’_ He thought to himself, before continuing.

In the next road, he came across a three-pointer and a one-pointer. Deciding that the three-pointer was the bigger threat, he charged towards that one first. Ignoring the fist it sent flying at him, he jumped into the air, flying towards its head. Once he was close enough, he spun in midair, hitting the robot’s head with his tail and decapitating it.

Landing behind the three-pointer, he spun around and grabbed it with his telekinesis. He lifted it into the air a bit before throwing it into the one-pointer.

He smirked. Based on his estimate, it hadn’t even been a full minute since the exam started and he already had eight points. This would be easier than he thought.

Kenzo continued the process for the next several minutes; tearing through robots, throwing them into each other, or crushing them with debris from nearby buildings. He stopped trying to keep track of his points, he’d lost count somewhere around 60 anyway.

About halfway through, his pattern was interrupted when he noticed a two-pointer about to hit one of the other applicants. She was distracted by the three-pointer she was grappling with; her hands had increased to a size capable of handling the large fists of the robot. Throwing his hand out, He caught the two-pointer before it could strike. With the robot in his grip, he closed his fist, crushing it. It collapsed in on itself, crushing down to a sphere of crumpled metal.

The girl dispatched the robot she’d been dealing with. Panting, she looked at the now-crushed two-pointer, then over at him.

“Thanks!” She called out, before turning to continue her hunt for robots.

As the exam continued, he kept stopping to intervene in other’s fights. Whether it was stopping a robot before it hit someone, as he’d done with the large-handed girl, or catching rubble falling from buildings, he was keeping them from harm as much as he could.

Several minutes later, just as he’d finished tearing through a group of one-pointers, he heard the voice of Present Mic call out again.

“TWO MINUTES LEFT LISTENERS! IT’S THE FINAL STRETCH!”

Just as he finished announcing that, Kenzo felt the mock city begin to rumble. He noticed one of the nearby building collapse, revealing the huge form of another robot. This one was the zero-pointer, the trap that they were meant to avoid. He intended to do just that, turning to run away. However, he only made it a few steps before he detected a life sign almost right under the monster robot.

Turning back, he scanned the road, searching for any sign of whoever wasn’t running away. He didn’t see anyone, but his senses were pointing him towards a pile of rubble, left over from where the building had collapsed.

He looked closer and, yes, there. He could see a hand sticking out from underneath the pile. The zero-pointer continued forward, shaking the ground. Any further and it would collapse the next building as well. The person had somehow managed to survive the first building, he could sense that, but they likely would not survive the second.

Just as it knocked into the next building, shaking it and causing pieces to begin falling, Kenzo’s eyes flared purple and he thrust both hands forward. The zero-pointer stopped in its tracks and the rubble that had begun to fall, froze in midair.

He grunted under the exertion of stopping so much at once. The robot was, as expected from its size, much stronger than the others.

Not wanting to waste any time, he dashed forward. As he drew closer, he leapt high into the air. Once he was well above the robot, he dove downward, feet first. He drove through the head of the zero-pointer, tearing through its outer shell and all of its more delicate inner structure, before splitting through its shell again. He emerged from its back, landing on the road hard enough to crack it.

Quickly, he pulled the robot down towards him, away from the pile of rubble, darting away as it landed.

With that handled, he ran towards the person buried under what used to be a building. They were still alive, but unconscious. And the less time they spent under there the better; he had no clue what kind of injuries the person had. He started lifting the rubble, careful not to disturb things too much as he did. A few moments later, the person came into view. He darted forward to retrieve them, noticing that it was the girl with the earphone jacks he’d spoken to before the exam.

Carefully, he picked her up and started jogging to the entrance of the mock city, letting the rubble fall to the ground once they were far enough away and he’d verified that no one else was close.

Just as he reached the gate, he heard Present Mic call out one last time.

“TIME’S UP, LISTENERS! HEAD TO THE ENTRANCE OF YOUR TESTING SITE! THERE ARE DOCTORS PRESENT IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF MEDICAL ATTENTION!”

Kenzo walked over to the people that Present Mic must’ve been talking about; several people adorned with red crosses and robots with flashing yellow lights.

A few of them ran over as he approached, taking the girl from him. “What happened to her?”

“A building fell on her after the zero-pointer collapsed it.” He responded. “I don’t know the extent of her injuries. Only that she is alive and unconscious.”

“Alright, thank you. We’ll take care of her.” They said as they loaded her onto a stretcher. “What about you? Are you hurt?”

He looked down at himself, taking in the state of his clothes. His shirt was gone, and his pants were little more than tatters. It was probably the zero-pointer, tearing through it like that had no doubt created a large amount of sharp, jagged pieces of metal to tear at him. As usual, he hadn’t felt anything, his skin hadn’t been cut. But his clothes had clearly not been so lucky.

“I’m fine. My skin and carapace protected me from getting cut.”

“Okay, that’s good. Wait here until they’re ready to take everyone back to the main building.” They responded, before darting away to tend to the people who needed it.

* * *

Shouta was smirking, somewhere between maniacal and proud, as the examiners watched the aftermath of releasing the zero-pointers. His expression was matched by Nezu a few meters away, something that terrified the rest of the UA faculty.

Kenzo, after tearing through robot after robot for most of the exam, had just stopped a zero-pointer in its tracks and destroyed it. Not only that, he’d done it in a way that prevented further injury to the applicant he was saving. He’d stopped more rubble from falling on them and made sure that after he destroyed the robot, it fell away from them.

Combining that with the other rescue points he’d earned and the number of villain points he’d gathered; it was very quickly looking like he would take the top spot in the practical exam.

Shouta’s grin didn’t diminish. Not even when the practical exam began wrapping up and he and the other examiners settled down to tally up everyone’s points to determine who passed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kenzo is a tol boi. (188cm = 6’ 2”)
> 
> For reference:  
Shoji (the tallest person in canon 1-A) is just about the same height at 187 centimeters (also 6’ 2”)  
Midoriya is 166cm/5’ 5”  
Aizawa is 183cm/6’ 0”


	15. A Very Special Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizawa gives Kenzo a surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for how long it's taken me to get this chapter out. Writer's block hit me HARD for this one. Don't worry though, chapter 16 is already in the works. So you shouldn't have to wait as long for that one.
> 
> Also! I haven't just been idle waiting for the writer's block to leave me. I've come up with a few new fic ideas, and have begun writing for two of them. One will have chapters one and two posted tomorrow (the 25th) and the other will come some time next week. 
> 
> They are both MHA crossover fics, similar to this one; with not much lore being included, just a single concept/character. You'll have to wait to see what they've been crossed with though. ;)

The week following the entrance exams passed in a blur. Shouta spent several days at UA with the other faculty, sorting through all the applicants. They’d determined who had passed, and placed them into either his class of 1-A or Kan’s class of 1-B. Those that hadn’t quite gotten close enough to get into the Hero Course were placed into General Studies, so long as they’d submitted a proper application for it, which some had.

Shouta had to admit that he had a few interesting kids in his class. He ended up with two that got in with recommendations, both from prestigious families; Momo Yaoyorozu and Shouto Todoroki. Both had interesting quirks that would be well-suited to heroics. He also had, from the regular exam, a kid who’d passed with only villain points; coming in second place overall with 80 points. Then there was the kid who, like Kenzo, had managed to stop the zero-pointer that was rampaging through his testing site. This one had gotten into the top ten with only rescue points, but he also seemed to have a quirk that injured his own body, Shouta would have to keep an eye on him.

Then there was Kenzo. As Shouta had predicted, he’d come in first place overall; scoring an unprecedented 128 villain points and another 72 recue points, for a total of 200 points even. He’d managed to beat the previous record for villain points; 94, set by Endeavor and had even broken the previous record for total points; 171, set by All Might.

He already had a sense for the potential and drive that Kenzo held, but Shouta would have to wait and see what his other students had. Interesting or not, if they had no potential then he would cull them before they had a chance to chase their half-baked dreams.

But that would have to wait until school actually started, in a month. For now, he had something more important to take care of.

That’s because this day was March 6th.

Kenzo’s birthday.

* * *

Shouta hadn’t planned anything too big to celebrate; he didn’t want to overwhelm the kid. But he still wanted to do his best to make it special. If he was right, then Kenzo hadn’t celebrated his birthday since before he got his quirk. And judging by everything else the kid had been living without before he’d been found; clothes, food, a bed, and even talking to other people, Shouta was right about this.

To start out, he took Kenzo out to eat once he got home from working at UA. It was the same restaurant they’d eaten in during their shopping trip to get Kenzo’s clothes. It wasn’t anything fancy, but he hoped it was meaningful nonetheless. After all, this was the place where Kenzo had eaten for the first time after over a decade and where Shouta had first told him about Nezu’s plan to get him a license.

Judging by the happiness that the kid seemed to be radiating, Shouta had guessed correctly.

There was also another reason why he’d taken Kenzo out to eat. He needed to get him away from the house long enough for a few certain people to get everything ready.

Once they had finished eating, and Shouta had gotten a text to notify him that his house was ready, they were on their way back.

It wasn’t until they were walking through the front door that Shouta realized his mistake.

He’d purposefully walked in behind Kenzo as he walked into the kitchen, so that he wouldn’t get in the way of the waiting surprise and so that he’d be able to see his reaction when it happened.

He hadn’t expected it when the kid stopped abruptly, his whole body tense. He saw the tell-tale purple glow that signified Kenzo’s use of his mental powers

**“Who’s there?”** He heard the kid call out. **“There’s no point hiding. I can sense you. And I can hear you breathing.”**

After a moment of not getting any response, and Shouta wondering what to do about the surprise being ruined, Kenzo spoke up again.

**“Come out. Now.”** He demanded. **“Unless you wish for me to come to you. And I promise, you won’t like it if I do.”**

Shouta decided that was his cue to move.

“Easy kid. Relax.” He said, stepping past him to flip the light switch. “You can come out now. He already knows you’re here.”

With the room now illuminated, he saw the people he’d chosen for the surprise make their way in from the living room. Nezu was first, riding on the shoulder of the skinny form of All Might, followed by Nemuri and Hizashi. All of them, with the exception of Nezu, had shocked, slightly sheepish expressions on their faces.

Once they had all entered, Hizashi decided to break the silence. “Uhh. Surprise?”

Kenzo had a look of extreme confusion. He’d met Hizashi and Nemuri several times over the past month, and obviously he’d met Nezu. But he’d never seen All Might in this form. And none of them, even Nezu, had ever been over to Shouta's house since Kenzo moved in.

“Principal Nezu?” He asked, switching back to his real voice. “Why are you here? With Present Mic, Midnight and…”

He looked at All Might, brow scrunched, before his eyes widened in shock. “And All Might?”

That caused the walking skeleton to sputter, coughing up an amount of blood that, from anyone else, would have been highly concerning.

“Young Okura.” All Might managed. “How did you know who I am?”

Kenzo, still looking entirely confused, explained. “I can feel your mind. Everyone’s mind feels slightly different from one another. But yours felt exactly the same as the All Might that I met in the forest.”

“I – I see.” He responded meekly. “So much for my secret.”

Nezu spoke up. “Apologies for barging in like this, Okura.” He began. “But Aizawa informed us that today was your birthday and expressed his desire for a celebration.”

“Huh? Today’s my birthday?” He asked, looking over at Shouta.

“That’s right kid, March 6th.” Shouta responded. “I had planned a surprise party for you, but I forgot that you can sense people like that.”

“Oh. I’m sorry that I messed up the plan then.”

“Don’t worry about it, kid. You didn’t know, that was the point. Besides, it’s not as if everything else is ruined now.”

“Everything else? What do you mean?”

Hizashi chose to speak up at that. “Well, Listener. First, we have cake!”

The celebration proceeded smoothly after that, despite the initial hiccup. They revealed the cake; a simple one with “Happy 18th, Kenzo!” written on it in icing. Kenzo’s look of confusion faded away to a small smile as he blew out the candles.

Soon, the cake had been eaten, and they were all gathered in the living room for the opening of presents. Hizashi and Nemuri both got him several pieces of hero merchandise which, upon closer inspection, were revealed to be all Eraserhead themed, much to Shouta’s chagrin and everyone else’s amusement.

Shouta knew for a fact that he didn’t have any official merchandise. He even went out of his way to put a stop to any that he found. So, the handful of posters and plushies, and the number of sweatshirts and hoodies; all specifically tailored to Kenzo; must have come from third-party artists. Were it not for the kid’s expression upon receiving them and the fact that they were gifts to him, Shouta would’ve said something to them, either demanding to know where they got the items or threatening them. As it was, that would have to wait until later.

Next, was Shouta’s gift. He hadn’t been entirely sure what to get; he hadn’t known Kenzo for very long, and the kid had been living away from everything for so long that even he didn’t know what he liked. After speaking with Nezu about the issue, he’d ended up getting a laptop; one of the newest on the market. If nothing else, it would at least be useful when the kid got into UA.

Nezu was next.

“Okura.” He began. “You may not be aware of this, but UA owns quite a large amount of land. It isn’t just the main campus.”

That was almost an understatement. UA owned all the land between the main campus and the USJ, and even more besides.

“A significant amount of that is woodlands, not unlike the forest that you grew up in. And we currently have no use for any of it.”

“Are you offering what I think you are?” Kenzo asked, incredulous.

“I am indeed.” The rodent responded, smirking. He had an unidentifiable gleam in his eye. “If you agree, I am willing to offer you a considerable plot of land for you to relocate your hive. It would be safer than its current location, being on UA property rather than on publicly accessible land. And it would mean that it is located much closer to you when you attend UA.”

“Hmm. That certainly would be convenient.” Kenzo mused. “Unfortunately, though, I don’t think I can accept. There’s simply been too much work put into my hive to just move it. There are tens, if not hundreds, of kilometers of tunnels traversing the underground there that took years to dig out. Not to mention the number of eggs that would have to be moved. I’m sorry.”

“I understand, Okura.” Nezu placated. “You are by no means obligated to move it if you do not want to. Just know that the offer will remain if you choose to accept it in the future.”

Kenzo thought to himself for a moment. “Actually, there may still be something I could do.” Looking back to Nezu, he explained. “If it’s okay with you, I could use the land to start a new hive.”

“Oh? You can have more than one hive? How?”

“Of course. It’s as simple as just creating a new hatchery. And as far as I’m aware, just like with the rest of my Zerg, there isn’t a limit to the number of hives I can have. You could even watch if you wanted. You’ve mentioned before that you were curious about how I made my hive.”

“So I have.” Nezu responded. “Very well. If that is what you wish to do, then I have no objections. I will leave it to you to decide when you do it.”

“Thank you, Principal Nezu. I appreciate it.”

All Might was last, speaking up once Kenzo had finished speaking.

“Young Okura. This may not be as much of a gift, but I think you’ll likely appreciate it just the same.” He said, revealing an envelope and handing it to the kid. It had UA’s insignia stamped on the front.

“I bring you the results of your performance in the entrance exams.”

Kenzo’s eyes snapped back up to All Might. “You mean, this is…”

“That’s right. Now, the results of your written exam weren’t all that great.” He explained. “And normally, they wouldn’t have been high enough for you to pass.”

“But!” He continued quickly, seeing Kenzo’s expression. “Principal Nezu feels that your performance in the practical portion more than makes up for it. And he’s already come up with a plan to remedy any lapses in your education once you begin at UA.”

“W-wait. So that means?”

“You passed, Young Okura! With an outstanding score of 128 villain points and 72 rescue points, you’ve not only passed, but have set records! UA is now your hero academia!”

Shouta could see Kenzo lower his head, tears starting to fall.

“I. I don’t know what to say.” He said, before looking back up to All Might. “Thank you.”

“You are very welcome My Boy. Just know that this is your doing. You have earned this. You are going to be a hero.”

After a number of tears shed by Kenzo. The rest of the party wrapped up fairly quickly, the guests departing with more wishes of “Happy Birthday!” along with a reminder on Nezu’s part for Kenzo to notify him of when he wanted to take care of the new hive.

Soon, it was just Shouta and Kenzo left, cleaning up the last of the mess. Normally, having so many people in his house would have left him with a migraine and a desire to avoid human interaction for the rest of his life. And while he still didn’t necessarily enjoy it, it was worth it to be able to give Kenzo the kind of celebration he’d been missing out on.

Speaking of. Shouta was gathering up the last of the dishes to be washed, when the kid caught his attention.

“Aizawa.” He began.

“Yeah kid?”

He shuffled on his feet for a moment, before responding. “I. I wanted to say thank you.”

He gestured all around him. “For. For all of this. For everything you’ve done. It feels… nice… to have all of this. To have someone that actually cares about me.”

Shouta stopped what he was doing, turning to fully face the kid. “You’re welcome, Kenzo.” He took a step closer. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. This is nothing less than what you deserve, by virtue of simply being a living person.”

He offered a rare smile. “I’m going to do the best I can to make sure you get everything you deserve. And I’m sure the others will do the same.”

Kenzo’s face was adorned with a smile of his own. He didn’t say anything else, just returning to his task, as Shouta returned to his own a moment later.

Neither of their smiles left their faces for the rest of the night. Remaining until they both fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've made a slight change to a previous chapter. It's nothing major, but I went back to chapter 5 to change the date of Kenzo's birthday. I did this because of when I wanted certain things to happen before the start of UA.
> 
> Also, I have a Twitter account: @Dragoneel7
> 
> I intend to use it for notifications when I upload chapters, starting with tomorrow's.  
I'll also use it if I need to explain why I'm late uploading, like I was with this one.


	16. What's In a Hive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenzo creates a new hive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Chrysler Everyone!
> 
> Sorry for such a huge delay. A combination of serious computer issues and depression made it difficult to write.
> 
> Not to worry though, I have bought a new computer. 
> 
> I'll try to get back into the swing of updating regularly.
> 
> On that note, I've also gone back through and made a few minor edits to previous chapters. Nothing major though; mostly just a few word choices to make things flow better.

Kenzo sighed as he took in the scenery around him. He was standing in a clearing, surrounded by trees.

He was at UA again, or at least on the property; the actual campus was a few kilometers away. Right now, he was in one of the forested areas that was, according to Nezu, was located close to the USJ. Today was the day he’d chosen to create a new hive. He’d chosen to wait until the week before he would move into the dorms.

He quite liked the location that had been chosen. It didn’t quite match up to his original; the clearing looked small, and the ground felt much softer than he would’ve liked; but he would probably always be partial to that one, no matter what. Despite his slight issues with it, it certainly wasn’t a bad location. Nezu had chosen well.

Speaking of; the principal had joined him, as promised, along with Aizawa. He knew that they were both curious, even if Aizawa hid it well under an uninterested expression.

Turning to the creature in question, who was riding in Aizawa’s scarf, he addressed them. “I like it. This spot will work quite well.”

“I’m glad to hear it!” Nezu responded cheerily. “You may begin whenever you’re ready.”

Nodding, Kenzo turned back around. He ran through a checklist in his head; he’d been planning what he wanted to do here since he first received the offer. He already knew how to do everything, of course, but his original hive had been built up over several years. Now, he was about to put together a new, fully functional one in a single day.

Nodding again, this time more to himself, he went to work.

He started by placing down several eggs, all in a line. A minute later, they all burst open to reveal a group of drones, ready to obey.

Singling one out, he tasked it with morphing into the hatchery, directly in the center of the clearing. Once it was away, he directed his attention to the others.

**“Once the hatchery has been morphed, begin digging out the tunnels beneath it.”** He commanded.

He felt their dull acknowledgement as they turned to watch the chrysalis that would soon be a hatchery.

It would still be a few minutes until the hatchery was ready. In the meantime, he decided to move on to the next step.

Moving away from the still-waiting drones, he placed another egg on the ground. One that he hadn’t chosen for a long time. When it finished growing and burst open, it revealed a broodmother.

It was completely identical to Aito in every way, including height; even though he’d grown since the day he’d created her, she was still over twice as tall as him.

The new broodmother turned to face him, before bowing. **“Greetings, my King.”**

He nodded to it. **“Greetings.”** He responded. Then, **“You, are Moriko. And this is your hive. You will take control of it, grow it, care for it. The hatchery is already being morphed.”**

**“You already know how to do everything, but contact Aito if you have questions. And listen to her if she gives you guidance. She is already sending forces over to ensure your protection until this hive is fully developed.”**

The chrysalis finally finished growing as he spoke, bursting open to reveal the hatchery. He heard the exclamations of Aizawa and Nezu behind him.

**“Now go. Begin working. I will stay here to observe for a time.”**

**“Yes, my King. I obey.”** The broodmother, now dubbed Moriko, responded. She turned towards the hatchery, already taking control as she made her way towards it.

Kenzo turned to the two heroes, seeing their reactions as they watched Moriko walk away.

“To think that something so large and intelligent can be created so fast.” Nezu said, almost to himself. Aizawa hadn’t said anything, simply staring with slightly widened eyes.

“All of my Zerg are like that.” Kenzo explained. “They all have extremely short gestation periods and hatch completely ready to perform whatever task is required of them. All of them have some degree of intelligence to be able to understand orders. But my broodmothers are the most intelligent out of all my Zerg – with one exception – , they have to be in order to control the Zerg where I don’t.”

“That is amazing, Okura. Your quirk never ceases to amaze me, both in its complexity and its versatility. And, if you don’t mind me asking, what is that one exception that you mentioned in regards to your broodmothers’ intelligence? Judging by how you said it, you weren’t referring to yourself.”

Kenzo was smiling at Nezu’s compliments. He doubted that he’d ever get used to people actually liking his quirk.

“That would be my evolution master.” He responded. “The one, single Zerg entity that is unique amongst all the others. His sole focus is to think of ways to improve upon the Zerg.”

“What do you mean, improve?”

“I mean that he spends all day, every day, thinking of and experimenting with ways that a Zerg’s DNA could be tweaked or rewritten to change any aspect of it for the better. For example, with my Zerglings; several times now he’s found ways to improve them by strengthening their carapace, increasing their metabolism to increase speed, and even improving their adrenal system to allow them to attack faster.”

“You mean that he can manipulate DNA?” Nezu questioned, that strange gleam present in his eyes once more.

“That’s correct. He experiments until he finds a change that would be beneficial, then he tests it in a batch of whatever Zerg he was trying to improve. If it turns out to be efficient enough and work well enough, then the change is incorporated into the rest of the existing Zerg.”

“So, as soon as he finds something that helps, all Zerg can access it right away? You don’t have to wait for new generations to see the changes? How does that work?” The gleam still hadn’t left. If anything, it was growing more intense the longer they talked.

“It’s because of the Zerg’s hive-mind, through their psionic connection. He can take control of the Zerg just as the broodmothers and I can. He is able to use that connection to order them to change according to a set template that he creates. Once they receive the order, they briefly enter into an egg where they change, before hatching again.”

“Hmm. I would very much like to meet him.” Nezu stated. Then, more to himself, “The brain-processing-capabilities alone must be immense in order to handle those sorts of calculations and simulations.”

“You’ll get to. He’s on his way here now along with some other Zerg.”

Aizawa finally spoke up at that. “That’s right, I remember you mentioning to that broodmother that forces were being sent over.”

Kenzo nodded. “Yeah. Even though we’re in the middle of UA’s property, I don’t want this hive to stand defenseless. It will take some time to build up strength to match my original hive, and this time I won’t be here for all of it.”

Nezu responded again. He seemed to have calmed down some from his excitement. “That is understandable, Okura. It is up to your judgement, how you take care of the hive. I certainly have no issue with it; this land is as good as yours now. When will these forces arrive? And how, for that matter?”

Almost right as Nezu asked that, Kenzo felt a sensation in his mind. It was Aito, contacting him from the other hive.

**“My King. The Nydus worm has almost reached your location.”**

**“Very good. Thank you, Aito.”**

He returned his attention to Nezu. “They will arrive shortly. They are traveling underground.”

With that, there was a break in the conversation. The three instead watched as Moriko continued to build the hive. She already had a few structures created, with several others being morphed in their chrysalis.

They continued to watch for some time, the silence only broken by the occasional question from Nezu.

Before long, Kenzo picked up the feeling of the Nydus worm shooting towards them. It was moving at tremendous speeds through the ground. Once it was mere moments from breaching the surface, he spoke up to the two standing next to him.

“They’re here.” He announced.

That was the only warning they got. In an instant, before either had a chance to respond to him, the Nydus worm emerged.

In an explosion of dirt and rock, the massive worm burst out of the ground, extending close to 100 meters into the air. Kenzo could hear the normally expressionless Aizawa exclaim a soft “Holy shit!” as they watched the new arrival.

Then it began to sink back into the ground, settling itself so that only its head was visible.

A moment later, its mouth opened, and from within poured out wave after wave of his Zerg.

First, were the Zerglings. They made up the bulk of his forces; numbering more than the rest of his creatures combined. They were more versatile compared to many of the others, useful for combat or scouting, and small enough to be stealthy.

As the mass of zerglings surged towards the hatchery, one broke away and ran to Kenzo and the two heroes. It was Ichirou, his oldest Zergling. Kenzo had no intention of leaving him at the original hive, so far away from UA; he needed him to be close. He’d been making due when he slept at Aizawa’s house (technically his house too, now), but he still never slept very well on those nights. He hadn’t tried to take Ichirou into Aizawa’s house because the Zergling would probably end up making a mess. He’d have to figure something out for when was in UA’s dorms though, the idea of spending so long without Ichirou wasn’t very appealing.

The Zergling quickly reached the group, bringing a smile to Kenzo’s face as he kneeled down to greet him. He scratched the creature behind its jaw, much like he would a dog, eliciting a deep rumble from its chest. Once he was done, and had stood back up to continue watching, Ichirou settled itself next to him, leaning slightly into his legs. The two heroes had no outward reaction to the interaction. Aizawa had already seen the creature, and saw how it acted much like how a pet would, and Nezu was simply skilled at masking his curiosity.

Next, came his Hydralisks, the simplified form of his bodyguard, Tamotsu. They were much more combat-oriented, and served well to compliment the Zerglings with their ranged attacks.

Then there were his Roaches, strange looking, four legged creatures that resembled beetles. Each one was as tall as him and could spew extremely acidic saliva from their mouth.

Following up in the rear were his Queens. They were smaller versions of his broodmothers. They weren’t as specialized as Aito and Moriko; not as intelligent and unable to take control to the same extent as them; but they were still useful and were able to communicate. Kenzo mostly had the queens oversee his stores of dormant eggs in the underground tunnels. They had an incredibly useful ability to heal other Zerg, using a chemical that they produce to reinforce tissue regeneration. That, combined with their ability to think independently and communicate, made them ideal for handling the eggs.

For now, these Queens would oversee the drones digging out the tunnels, until this hive began producing eggs to be stored.

lastly, two final figures appeared from the mouth of the worm. The first was Tamotsu. The Hunter-Killer wordlessly made its way over to the trio. With a slight bow in greeting, it positioned itself directly behind Kenzo.

That left the second figure.

Odd-looking, even among the Zerg, this creature appeared to be some strange mix of a slug and spider. Its main body seemed to lack much structure, bringing to mind Tamotsu’s almost snake-like body, but that was where the similarities stopped. It had several spider-like legs protruding from its back and multiple pairs of arms spread along its torso. Its head was bulbous, covered in fleshy sacs that seemed to hold larva, similar to those that Kenzo could create. And it had an odd set of mandibles over its vertically-set mouth.

He could hear an intake of breath from where Nezu and Aizawa were standing.

“Is that...?” Nezu started to ask.

“Yes.” Kenzo responded as they watched the creature approach them. “This is my evolution master.”

The creature finally stopped in front of the group. It did not bow as Tamotsu and Moriko did. Instead, it clasped its topmost pair of hands together as it spoke.

“Greetings, King. Selected forces have finished relocating.”

“Hello Abathur.” Kenzo returned, before turning to watch Moriko’s progress. “We’ll have them move underground as the tunnels are dug out. Moriko, the new Broodmother, is developing the new hive. She’ll have your new evolution pit morphed soon enough.”

Abathur didn’t respond, opting instead to join Kenzo in observing. He never had much to say about anything that didn’t directly relate to his work.

Kenzo continued, regardless.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt your work too badly by having you relocate. But I wanted to have you closer to UA.”

“Is no issue.” Abathur responded. “King ordered it. Work is secondary to King’s directive.”

Kenzo nodded. He had mostly expected that answer. “Speaking of. Have you come up with anything?”

Abathur gestured vaguely with a few of his arms. “Have made progress with new strain. Is close to being ready. Have also found new augmentation for King of Blades.”

Nezu spoke back up at that.

“When he says, ‘augmentation for King of Blades,’ does that mean that he can alter your DNA as well, Okura?”

Turning back to the two heroes, Kenzo answered. “Yes. My physiology is very similar to the rest of the Zerg. Close enough that he can change it.”

“Has he changed it before?” Aizawa asked, eyeing the Zerg.

“He has. There was one that made my skin and armor much denser, one that improved my regenerative capabilities, and another that increased the density of my brain matter and the speed of my neural pathways. That one made it easier to control larger amounts of Zerg at one time and made my reflexes faster.”

He looked back to Abathur as he finished his explanation. “What do you have this time?”

“Muscular enhancement. Can increase muscle density to improve strength and speed.”

“Sounds good. We’ll do that later, once the hive has been taken care of.”

“These augmentations Okura… With a being such as this that can alter your DNA in such specific ways. In theory, you would have no limits whatsoever. Doubly so, since all of your Zerg can be enhanced in the same way.”

He shook his head. “Your potential is nearly mind-boggling. You would no doubt make an excellent hero by virtue of your strength alone, not to mention your heart and obvious skill.”

Kenzo was nearly glowing at Nezu’s praise. It was rare to see him so stunned. And hearing him say such things made Kenzo feel warm inside. It was nice to hear people reinforce the idea that he could be a hero, even if he was already starting to overcome the self-doubt that had plagued him for so long.

After that, it didn’t take long for Moriko to finish creating the bulk of the hive. Abathur retreated to his new evolution pit as soon as it was morphed, to continue his work, leaving Kenzo and the two heroes to watch.

Eventually, Kenzo turned to address the other two.

“It’s pretty much done by this point.” He explained. “There’s not much more left to do, and most of that is underground. I intend to spend the night here so I can keep an eye on everything and so I can get that muscle augmentation from Abathur.”

“Sounds good, Kid. Do what you have to do. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Aizawa responded.

“I must say, Okura. This has been quite the enlightening experience.” Nezu said. “Being able to see just how quickly and efficiently your Zerg can multiply, and learning of the existence of your evolution master. You’ve given me much to think about.”

“I figured that you would enjoy watching it, Nezu. Thank you, again, for letting me use this land.”

“You are very welcome, Okura. Now, we shall be off. I suppose the next time I’ll see you will be when you move into the dorms this weekend.”

After a few more exchanged words of farewell, the group separated. Aizawa, with Nezu secure in his capture weapon, started walking out of the clearing, in the general direction of the main UA grounds. Kenzo started for the newly-morphed hatchery, with Ichirou at his feet and Tamotsu close behind, to begin inspecting the progress on the underground chambers.

After several minutes of walking, Nezu broke the silence.

“That boy…” He began. “Never have I been more glad that he wants to be a hero. With how quickly he can create and transfer his Zerg, and how quickly they can all be made stronger, he would be a force to be reckoned with. And I get the feeling that what we saw today was simply casual expansion. Were he to put in a concentrated effort, he could likely create an army in no time at all. Had he wished to become a villain, the world would have fallen at his feet.”

“I thought the same thing while we were watching.” Aizawa responded. “It’s a good thing that we don’t have to worry about that though. He reached the decision on his own that he wanted to be a hero, despite having every reason to hate the world after how he was treated. What’s more, is that he did so with no expectation for any sort of compensation or recognition. In fact, he was under the impression that he didn’t deserve those things because of his appearance.”

“Indeed, it just goes to show how much of a true hero he really is. To experience the things he did, yet still want to help people. I eagerly await the day he is introduced to the world as a fully-fledged pro hero.”

“Same here. Hell. I’m looking forward to the first day. I want to see how he’s going to do on the quirk apprehension tests. We’ve seen him fight off the exam robots, but that looked next to effortless for him. I get the feeling it’ll be a lot different when he puts his all into the tests, especially with the increased strength he’s supposed to be getting.”

Nezu hummed in agreement. “It’s certain to be interesting.”

With that, the pair lapsed into silence as they continued towards the school. Bith were eagerly awaiting whatever the future held.

**Author's Note:**

> Momo: *Makes a thing with her quirk*  
Kenzo: "Fucking superb you funky little 3D printer."


End file.
